Mary Beth Miller

Mary Beth Miller, 58, of Little Compton, RI, on August 8, 2010.

Born on July 27, 1952, she was the daughter of the late Stephen Harun and the late Mercedes Rose Harun of Jefferson, Louisiana. She was a 1970 graduate of Ursuline Academy and attended Loyola University in New Orleans and Bristol Community College in Fall River.

Mary Beth moved from New Orleans to New England in 1985. In making a difference in so many lives, Mary Beth helped those she served find the lessons and beauty in each moment. She founded and led Gardening for Good, (www.Gardening4Good.org) a non-profit organization aimed at connecting people with nature through “garden therapy.”

She was a Registered Horticultural Therapist and a 10-year member of the national board of directors of the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA).

Mary Beth developed and conducted programs, workshops and activities for senior centers, hospitals, Home and Hospice Care Centers, schools, camps and other locations that provide care and caregiving services.

She provided hands-on support and guidance to people of all ages as well as those with physical and cognitive disabilities or limitations and those suffering from loss and grief. Programs were also tailored to caregivers and professionals from the medical and educational fields.

A URI master gardener, Mary Beth was a multi-award-winning garden designer at the Rhode Island Spring and Garden Flower Show. In 2010, she became the first recipient of a special award which will now be given annually in her name by the Rhode Island Horticultural Society.

In 2006, Mary Beth helped found the Children’s Garden Network, (www.childrensgardennetwork.org) a community of support that assists school and youth organizations to develop sustainable garden education programs. In 2009, with New England Farm Ways, (www.NEFarmWays.org) she launched “Sensory Sojourns”; enhanced walking tours that highlight the sensory aspects of farms, vineyards and orchards. She served in a variety of other capacities for the Rhode Island Center for Agriculture Promotion & Education (RICAPE).

Her professional work also included marketing, event planning, fundraising and public relations services for a variety of clients, organizations and institutions in Rhode Island and the region.

Mary Beth was a member of the Sagonnet Garden Club in Little Compton and an accomplished nature photographer and writer.

She attended and was a former member of the choir at Westport Point United Methodist Church in Westport Point, MA.

She is survived by Stuart Nunnery of Little Compton, RI to whom she was wed in March of 2010; a daughter Jessica Miller of Fall River, MA and a son Justin Miller and his wife Massielle Morales, of Holbrook, MA; two sisters, Jo Harun of Denver, CO and Katherine Keller and her husband Scott Keller of McKinney, TX; one granddaughter, Elizabeth Miller of Fall River, MA; three nephews, Jake Stene and his wife Andra Stene of Denver, CO, Carson and Cordell Keller of McKinney, TX and one great-niece, Liliana Rose Stene of Denver, CO.

Mary Beth was previously married to Ranzy Miller of Hattiesburg, MS from 1973 to 1988, Jessica and Justin’s father.

Donations can be sent to the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund, Westport Point United Methodist Church, PO Box 2, Westport Point, MA 02791.

A celebration of Mary Beth’s life will be held on Saturday, September 18, 2010, 1:00 PM, at Westport Point United Methodist Church, Westport Point, MA.

To send the family a written message remembering Mary Beth, please visit www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, MA. (508) 695-0200