Joan Orr Miller

Joan Orr Miller, 91, of Wheat Ridge died Dec 21 following a stroke. She was born Joan Phoebe Orr in Buhl Idaho Dec 29, 1919 to Samuel Culbertson Orr and Margaret Peebles Orr. Sisters Peggy and Kathleen followed soon after. They would always be known as the Orr girls--many people never learning to distinguish one from the other. Margaret had immigrated to Idaho from Scotland to marry S.C. and 6 weeks after Kathleen was born, she journeyed with the girls and their Aunt Phoebe back to Scotland. Imagine making this trip by train and ship with three children 3 years old and under! The girls were raised on an apple orchard, called The Orrchard, which Joan's father and uncle had started in 1910. Besides apples, there were also cherry , pear, and peach trees. An asparagus field provided much needed income every spring. The family also raised chickens for the eggs and fryers, had a milk cow, raised bum lambs every year, and cows for meat. They had a vegetable garden and strawberry and raspberry patch. The girls all worked on the Orrchard, Joan enjoying the gardening aspect more than the animal side. While they were poor during the depression, the Orrs always had enough to eat. Whenever the farm work allowed, the family slipped away for recreation. They camped at Redfish lake, visited Yellowstone and Craters of the Moon, as well as local attractions, like the ""amazing"" Balanced Rock. Joan attended Buhl High school and earned a teaching certificate at the University of Idaho, Southern Branch in Pocatello. Her first teaching job was in Upper Carmen, Idaho, a very rural community north of Salmon. It was a real country school, grades 1-8 where the teacher was also the janitor. She had to build up the fires in the morning and bring in water from Carmen creek. She boarded with one of the families, which cost her $15 out of her $90 a month salary. During the war years she taught in Buhl, and in the summer worked at the Moscow Hotel in Moscow, Idaho. It was there in the summer of 1943 she met Army 2nd Lieutenant Charles Miller. After that summer, Joan returned to her teaching and Charles was reassigned, but they kept up a correspondence, and he managed to visit Buhl in December. They were married September 1944 in Santa Barbara, California where he was stationed. Here her world expanded and she tried all sorts of new things including tennis, horse back riding, and sailing. She also got to see many celebrities who came north from LA to entertain the troops. She worked on the post until the end of the war. After the war, Joan and Charles moved to New Jersey, where their first two children, Chuck and Margaret were born. In l955 they moved to Wheat Ridge where Ginny and George came along. Her time in Wheat Ridge was spent raising her family, keeping busy with school, church and neighborhood activities. In l978 after 34 years of marriage, Charles died unexpectedly. Besides being a great wife and mother, Joan worked as a teachers aide at Everett Jr High, volunteered at the Jeffco Mental Health Center, and hosted several School of Mines international students and their families. She was a passionate lifelong learner and teacher. Vacations were thoroughly researched, then the knowledge imparted to her children as the family took car trips all over the country. There wasn't a historical marker we didn't pull over for. Later as the children left the nest, she traveled to Japan and Scotland and England with Charles, then to Russia, Spain, Morocco, Hawaii, and Canada. She loved reading, crossword puzzles and word jumbles, and. gardening. She did needlework, finding camaraderie in her Stitch and Bitch group. She walked everyday, the Clear Creek green belt a favorite place. She was a member of the Wheatridge Presbyterian Church from 1956 until her death. She was quite involved in her grand-children's lives, and they have fond memories of their Gram. In 1990 Joan and her sisters spent many months compiling a history of their mother and their childhood, a priceless treasure for all of us. Joan is survived by son Chuck Miller (Jeanne) of Golden, daughter Margaret Quintana of Portland, Daughter Ginny (Rich) of Littleton, Son George (Christy) of Scottsdale as well as nine grandchildren, Janice Lake (Matt), Matt Miller; Joe and Liz Quintana; Erin and Shelley Youngkin; Rachael, Katie, and Nick Miller; and one great grandson, Tucker Lake. She is also survived by her sister Kathleen Warnick, brother-in-law Doug Crane, former son-in-law Manolo Quintana, and numerous nieces and nephews. Her sister Peggy Crane predeceased her in 2008. The family would like to extend their utmost thanks to caregivers Brenda, Patty and Karen and house dog Lexie, who made mom's last years comfortable. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Alzheimers Association at www.alz.org. Service Friday, 1PM, Wheat Ridge Presbyterian Church, 9180 West 38th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado 80033 Please share your memories of Joan and condolences with her family by clicking the ""sign guestbook"" button below.