Katharine Miller

Katharine Oldfield Miller NORFOLK - Katharine Oldfield Miller, 76, surrounded by her family, passed away peacefully Dec. 20, 2009, after a valiant battle with cancer. Kaye, a Norfolk resident of the Larchmont community, was a lifelong volunteer who dedicated herself to charitable ventures while also being actively involved in a variety of business endeavors, most recently, as a real estate agent with William E Wood and Associates. During the 1970s and early 1980s, she was able to fulfill both her business and volunteer spirit while acting as the area coordinator of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), a project of the Southeast Virginia Area Wide Model Program (SEAVAMP). She also owned and operated a small business venture, Kaye Miller Antiques. Kaye's volunteer work began early with her involvement as a charter and lifelong member of the Margaret Roper Moss Circle of The Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters. Then a junior circle, it evolved to an adult circle and became the driving force behind the annual Holly Ball for which Kaye acted as decorating chairman for many years. She was active in the Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach holding the position of Azalea Board co-chair as well as chairman of the Thrift Shop. She served as a member of the auxiliary board for Leigh Hospital, where she also served as a pink lady. Her love of animals was evident with her involvement as secretary and longtime board member of the Gordon Setter Club of America. She also was a member of Chi Omega Sorority and Norfolk Yacht and Country Club. Kaye was born Oct. 7, 1933 in San Antonio, Texas, the third of three children to Col. Charles Belding Oldfield Jr., U.S. Air Force, and Marguerite Illing Oldfield. As a child, she traveled with her family while her father established and commanded various Army Air Corps training bases across the country and in the Panama Canal Zone. After World War II, the family returned to Norfolk, and she graduated Maury High School, Class of 1951. She later attended Georgetown Visitation College, Norfolk division of The College of William and Mary and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was presented at the Norfolk German club in 1952. She married William Sheppard Miller Jr. on Sept. 11, 1954, and soon thereafter began her most fulfilling and rewarding life's work as she embarked upon motherhood. Kaye was predeceased by her parents, her husband, her brother, Lt. Cmdr. Charles Belding Oldfield III, and sister, Marguerite Oldfield Luckett. She is survived by her three children, Katharine Miller Whitely, William Sheppard Miller III, Maria Ashby Kennedy; grandchildren, William Sheppard Miller IV, Georgina Offley Miller, Katharine Rawles Miller, Mariah Delaney Kennedy, Marguerite Hannah Kennedy and Thomas Gray Miller; three nieces and nephews, Carroll Oldfield Hill, Charles Belding Oldfield IV, Robert Wise Oldfield; her sister-in-law, Carroll White Oldfield; and a myriad of cousins. A Mass of the Resurrection is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. today, Dec. 23, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Norfolk, followed by a burial Saturday, Dec. 26, at 11 a.m. in the family plot at Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery, Middlesex County, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society or Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters or a charity of your choice. Funeral arrangements are being handled by H.D. Oliver in Norfolk and Bristow- Faulkner in Middlesex County, Virginia. Online condolences may be offered to the family through hdoliver. com.