Obituary of Shirley Anne Miller

Shirley Anne (nee Van Gelder) Miller, 89, a longtime resident of Dolgeville, NY, passed away December 25, 2024, at GreenField Health and Rehabilitation Center, Lancaster, NY.  She has been a resident of the GreenFields community since September 2022.  Shirley was born May 4, 1935, in New York, NY, the daughter of the late Hans Van Gelder and Minna (nee Blanke) Van Gelder.  She was a graduate of Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, NY, and received her teaching certification at Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, IL, where she met her husband.  Shirley and William Donald MacDuff Miller were united in marriage at Redeemer Lutheran Church, St. Albans, NY, on June 29, 1958.  They were wed for more than 55 years, until Donald’s death in 2014.  Shirley took great joy in her family, raising two daughters with Donald.

Before raising her family, Shirley worked in various secretarial positions and taught school for a time.  She had a strong faith in God and a commitment to serve, volunteering both at church and in the community.  Shirley had once considered being a missionary and had a lifelong interest in helping others around the world.  She was a member of the Upstate New York Synod’s Global Mission Committee and worked to sponsor a Hmong family in Dolgeville many years ago.  Shirley sang in the church choir, played organ and piano for services, led and participated in Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and served on the congregational councils of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herkimer and United Lutheran Presbyterian Parish in Dolgeville.  She was a book club member and an active Friend of the Dolgeville-Manheim Public Library.  She loved to laugh and had a beautiful smile.

Shirley is survived by her daughters, Anne Elise Kopp and husband Fred, East Aurora, NY; Ruth Lynne Miller and husband Stephen Moles, Silver Spring, MD; her brother John Van Gelder and wife Betty, Edgewater, FL; her three grandchildren Nathaniel Kopp and wife Julia Walsh, Rebekah Kopp and fiance Michael Tohill, and Isaac Miller Moles; two great-grandchildren Felix and Ruby Kopp; and several nieces and nephews.

Shirley’s family extends deep-felt thanks to the many kind and compassionate caregivers at GreenFields who cared for Shirley in recent years and to those in her home community around Dolgeville who supported her with their friendship and kindness throughout her life.  A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at 11:00 AM at United Lutheran Presbyterian Parish, 26 East Faville Avenue, Dolgeville, NY, with the Rev. Frederick W. Kopp officiating.  Relatives and friends are invited to visit with the family prior to the service from 10:00-11:00 AM at the church and to attend the service that follows.  Interment will take place in Dolgeville Cemetery in the spring.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Shirley’s memory to the Upstate New York Synod (Zimbabwe Ambulance Appeal), 116 W. Glen Avenue, Syracuse, NY, or the United Lutheran Presbyterian Parish, 26 East Faville Avenue, Dolgeville, NY.  Arrangements are by the Chapman-Moser Funeral Home, Inc., 42 N. Ann Street, Little Falls, NY.