Maria Teresa Miller

MARIA TERESA MILLER (NÉE MARIA TERESA MARTÍ FERRÉ), born February 20th, 1930, in Barcelona, Spain, passed away on September 9th, 2025, at the age of 95 at her daughter and son-in-law's home in Shoals, Wayne County, West Virginia. She was predeceased by her husband, John Hawes Miller, Jr., as well as by her brother Lluis Martí Ferré, her sister-in-law Maria Ramon Pisa, her sister Rosa Maria Martí Ferré, her nephew Jordi Martí Ramon, and granddaughter-in-law Crystal Dale Chambers.
Maria Teresa was a Spanish Civil War survivor who endured many hardships as a child. She was a brave, generous, creative, humble, compassionate, and elegant person, a lover of nature who possessed great physical and emotional strength. As a young woman, she studied at the Conservatori Municipal de Música de Barcelona, achieving a high level of skill on the piano. She also sang in Catalan choral groups and was an avid dancer of the Catalan folk dance, the sardana. In 1955, she met John H. Miller, Jr., a World War II veteran, Marshall University graduate and high school Spanish teacher. They married in 1956 and lived initially in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, before returning to West Virginia and building a home in Shoals. She and her family then spent ten years in Michigan. She was a dedicated homemaker who, in addition to raising her three children, worked in the East Lansing and Lansing public school systems as a lunchroom monitor, teacher's aide, and ultimately as a choral music teacher. While working in these capacities, she continued her studies, earning a master's degree in music from Michigan State and completing a thesis entitled: "Music of the Cobla," which received a 1974 prize from the Catalan Obra del Ballet Popular. Returning to West Virginia in 1977, she composed music and taught piano and music theory lessons to children in the historic one room schoolhouse on Newcomb Road and in the Town of Wayne, holding annual student recitals for many years. Maria Teresa also helped establish the Shoals Homemakers Club, which brought residents together for fellowship and coordinated efforts at beautification. In retirement, she traveled, sang in the Marshall University Choral Union, and helped raise her seven grandchildren. She also kept herself busy sewing, crafting, decorating, and entertaining family and friends. Throughout her life, she warmly welcomed individuals from Spanish speaking countries who were adjusting to life in West Virginia, demonstrating what true happiness consisted of and serving as a beacon of strength to all.
She is survived by daughter Maria Rosa Germain, by son Marc Martí Miller and his wife Marisol Yago Toledano, and by daughter Montserrat Miller and her husband Dan Holbrook. Her passing is mourned by grandchildren Carl Germain, Nora Germain, Domenica Queen, Bryan Chambers, Lenna Chambers and her husband Josep Carbó Planas, Elizabeth Chambers, and John Holbrook, along with great-grandchildren Trey Chambers and his wife Taylor Strickland Chambers, Nick Chambers, Mónica Carbó, Mercè Carbó and Marcus Martí Chambers, as well as by her dearest friends María Carmen Riddel, Steve Riddel, Ana Bahr, Niles Riddel, and David and Rainey Duke.
Her family is deeply indebted for the many kindnesses shown to Maria Teresa by her nephew and niece David and Janie McDaniel, by nephew and niece BJ and Kathy Willis, by sister-in-law and brother-in-law Mary Janice and Bill Willis, by generous neighbors on Newcomb Creek Road, by many friends from West Virginia, extended family from Spain, and by the nurses, doctors, and healthcare professionals who tended to her over the years. A public memorial in her honor will be held at Creekside Country Club in Lavalette on Friday, November 28th at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ADK Doris C. Miller Scholarship Fund at the Marshall University Foundation.
Family guestbook at www.klingelcarpenter.com