Cora N. MILLER

MILLER, Cora N. Cora Nunnally Miller died peacefully at her home, Hound Hill, in Otis, Massachusetts on Saturday, July 18, 2015 surrounded by friends. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Carl R. Miller, her mother, Jessie McKee Nunnally Hodgson, her father, Winship Nunnally, Sr. and her three siblings, Winship Nunnally, Jr., Hugh McKee Nunnally and Jessie Nunnally Brumby. She is survived by her nephews, McKee Nunnally, Jr. and Peck Brumby, both of Atlanta, Georgia, her niece, Jessie Brumby Paneck of Harvard, Massachusetts and her grand-niece, Elizabeth O. Brunson of St. Simon's Island, Georgia. Her father, Winship Nunnally, Sr., was a well known Atlanta businessman who served on a number of boards of directors of local Atlanta companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, Trust Company of Georgia (now SunTrust Bank), and Delta Airlines, Inc. Cora learned how to ride horses as a youth on her father's farm, Lazy River, located on the outskirts of Atlanta. Cora became an accomplished horsewoman riding both Saddlebred and Quarter horses. She took her favorite Saddlebred horse to compete at Madison Square Garden one year. After an accident on a Quarter horse which broke her back, Cora had to give up that sport and turned to raising Afghans and Whippets. She had great success, particularly with her Whippets, showing them competitively around the country with her longtime friends, Susan Bolduc, Margaret Weigle Phlum, and Phoebe Booth. She had a number of champion dogs that were raised and trained at Hound Hill. Her pride and joy was a great champion, Hound Hill Tobias. Cora was a founding member and a lifetime director of the Whippet Health Foundation as well as serving as President of the American Whippet Club. She was an enthusiastic competitor who realized outstanding results over the years from her dog show efforts. Cora was a voracious reader, especially of non-fiction, and a serious music lover. Her stepfather, Hugh Hodgson, was Chairman of the University of Georgia's Music Department for more than 30 years and was known throughout the Southeast for his lively music appreciation classes. Cora loved life and enjoyed an intellectual curiosity about many subjects, most recently the history of gemstones. She traveled extensively throughout her life. She loved the mountains and rolling hills of Massachusetts. She was a gourmet cook. She loved art and history. She cared about others and was quietly generous with people, animals and charities. She was loyal to those she trusted, and she cared deeply about her employees. She was stubborn, and she always knew her own mind. She was not easily swayed by the opinions of others. She maintained her sparkly wit and sharp intellect throughout her life. Cora was also a lifelong philanthropist who shied away from recognition and attention, although she relished in the letters she received from students attending the University of Georgia for whom she provided scholarships. She was a major benefactor of the University of Georgia, having supported the Hugh Hodgson School of Music and, most recently, the College of Veterinary Medicine. She was a primary funder of the College of Veterinary Medicine's new Veterinary Medical Center, which includes an education building and a teaching hospital for large and small animals. She generously supported the Massachusetts Audubon Society, as well as many other charities. At the end, Cora's final gift to her friends and neighbors was to make arrangements to give the property surrounding Hound Hill to the Massachusetts Audubon Society to be kept in undeveloped perpetuity for the enjoyment of all.