Helen "Jane" Miller

Helen Jane Miller, 85, Marion, passed away at 6:05 pm on Friday, August 8, 2025. She was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Friday, October 20, 1939, to Floyd Herd and Victoria (Wiseman) Hoehn. Jane (never Helen) graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She worked as a Surgical Tech / Substitute School Teacher / Librarian.
Thank you to my cousins, Vikki and Kristi; my mom's cousin, Karen; and her best friend, Sharon, for your help in writing my mother's obituary.
Helen Jane Herd was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She didn't care for the name Helen and went by Jane. When she was four years old (1943), she rode a public bus to kindergarten by herself. One year of elementary school was spent in a one-room schoolhouse on a nature preserve in Nebraska. The school teacher was her grandmother, Florence Wiseman. After high school, she worked summers in Yellowstone National Park and was there for the 7.3 magnitude earthquake in 1959 that created a brand new lake and several new geysers where none had been before. When college was finished, she drove to Santa Barbara, California, and spent the late '60s hanging out at the beach and working as a telephone operator. Jane always drove to Indiana every year at Christmas to be with her mother and her brother and his family, and it's there that she met the widower whom she would marry. Jane settled down with Bill Miller in Gas City and cared for her step-children. After a year of marriage, she gave birth to her daughter, Judy.
Jane never moved away again, but her family put thousands of miles on their camper as they drove all over the States to visit family and to see the sights. She worked as a surgical technician, a teacher, a librarian--and she wasn't afraid to tussle with the school board when she thought they weren't doing something right, especially when it came to her daughter. Jane loved to sew and was once a member of the Quilter's Hall of Fame in Marion. She loved children and young people. She was never without a cat (or 3) family member. She was the one you wanted to sit next to at Thanksgiving. Her laugh made you feel good. As her cousin, Karen Larkin, stated: "I remember her effervescent personality, her infectious laugh, and her perfect eyeliner." She never stopped being interested, never stopped learning. Her home was filled with books. Her empathy was profound concerning her family and the needs of others. She would ask you how you were and then listen to your answer. She had lasting friendships, and her friend of 71 years, Sharon Hart (who now resides in Australia), says, "We'll be Friends Forever, won't we?" Pooh asked Piglet. "Even longer," Piglet answered. "Judy, your mom Jane had such a big heart! I feel so fortunate to have known her for 71 years. Even after we graduated from AL High School we remained friends in person thoughout our married lives." That is who Jane was.
Jane was there like a rock for so many people, and she loved her life with her beloved, Bill. Her daughter, Judy, was her pride and joy.
Survivors include her daughter, Judy Miller-Clouser of Topanga, CA; her brother, David Herd of Chicago, IL; her Wiseman clan of relatives in Kansas, Washington, and California; her half-brother, Cliff Herd of Omaha, NE; and her nieces and nephew, Victoria (North Hollywood, CA), Kristi (Arvada, CO) and Bill (NJ).
She was preceded in death by her parents, Floyd Herd and Victoria Wiseman Hoehn, and her husband, William "Bill" Miller.
A graveside service for Jane will take place at 1:00 pm on Friday, September 26, 2025, at Marion National Cemetery, 1700 E. 38th St., Marion, IN. Pastor Mick Simpkins will be officiating.
Memorial contributions can be sent to The Alzheimer's Association (https://www.alz.org/).
Arrangements are entrusted to Needham-Storey-Wampner Funeral & Cremation Service, North Chapel, 1341 N. Baldwin Ave., Marion, IN.
Memories may be shared online at www.nswcares.com.