Constance G. MILLER

MILLER, Constance G. Constance Geiger Miller died Sunday, (February 20, 2011) in her home in Litchfield, CT, surrounded by family, at the age of 95. The only child of the late Charles Robeson Geiger and Jane Irene Lamb, Constance was born August 3, 1915, in Cromwell, CT. She graduated from Middletown High School and Connecticut State Teacher's College (now Central Connecticut State University ) and was the female lead in many plays at Wesleyan University--then all male- where her picture still hangs in the theater department. In 1941, she married the late Charles Daniel Miller of Middletown and moved to Los Angeles, where her husband worked as a toolmaker at Mitchell Camera until the outbreak of the war, when his skills were needed at the Department of Defense. Constance taught at the Eunice Knight Saunders School until the birth of her fourth child. The couple relocated to Rockford, IL in 1955 where Charles became the President of The Testor Corporation and of the Hobby Industry Association of America. They ultimately settled in Litchfield (near their daughter, Susan) in 1982. An avid traveler, Constance teamed with her other intrepid friends for trips around the world to 43 countries on six of the seven continents. She was proud to have visited Russia in 1965 and China in 1978, when few tourists were allowed in. Her travels culminated in an African safari and a trip to Ecuador a year later, for her 80th birthday. She amassed a vast and unique hat collection, commemorated in the book, Nana's Hats, written by her daughter, Mercedes. A self titled "yellow dog Democrat", Constance voted in every election since turning twenty-one. She nurtured an appreciation of poetry and literature inspired by her mother and shared a love of jazz with her late husband. She had an exquisite memory and a gift for storytelling and awed those around her with vivid recollections, beginning with the chiming of the town bells marking the end of World War I, when she was three years old. In the past several years, Constance had gifted her loved ones with compilations of her favorite jazz, poetry, and quotations, and wrote Just for Ducks, a primer for life. Her family was her enduring passion and pride - she never missed a birthday card…or a stern grandmother's letter when deemed necessary. Constance suffered the loss of her husband in 1993 and the heartbreak of the early passing of two grandchildren--Meegan Jane Miller (in 1985 at age 14) and Edward "Teddy" Ebersol (in 2004 at age 14)--and her beloved son David Jonathan in October 2010 (wife, Tracy Waters). She is survived by her children: Charles G. Miller (wife, Anita) of Rockford, IL; actress Susan Saint James (husband, Dick Ebersol, Chairman of NBC Sports) of Litchfield, CT; and Mary Mercedes Dewey (husband, John) of Athens, GA. She is also survived by 12 devoted grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A service is planned for April 2, 2011 at 11 a.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Litchfield, CT. In lieu of flowers, please consider: ZERO - The Project to End Prostate Cancer, 10 G Street NE, Suite 601, Washington, DC 20002 www.ZeroCancer.org In memory of David J. Miller or VNA Northwest Hospice Care, 607 Bantam Road, Unit F, Bantam, CT 06750. http://www.vnanw.org/hych_donation.asp, In memory of Constance Miller.