Emily "Nikki" Miller

In Memoriam - Emily "Nikki" Miller - May 19, 1916 to May 22, 2017. Emily "Nikki" Miller was born Emily Potuzak, in Astoria, Long Island, New York. Her parents were immigrants from Czechoslovakia. She attended school at PS 5 and later graduated Julia Richmond High School High School, New York City in 1934. She and her family could not afford college, so Nikki attended classes at the New York School of business. Her first career position was as a Paralegal in 1936, at a law office in Jackson Heights, N.Y. In 1939 she completed civil service exams and accepted a position with the U.S. Navy Department in Washington D.C. In 1941, Nikki married Roy Thomas Miller "R.T.". R.T. was a supply Sargent under the command of General George Patton, 101st airborne division. When WWII broke out, R.T. shipped out to Europe and fought in the "battle of the bulge". During the war, Nikki worked as Chief Clerk in the Inspection Office for the Department of the Navy and in 1944, Roy Thomas Miller Jr. was born in N.Y. while R.T. was fighting in Europe. R.T. survived the war and was reunited with Nikki and son. Always adventurous in nature, Nikki, with husband and child, left NYC and moved to Monument, Oregon. R.T. had dreamed of being a rancher and land was cheap in eastern Oregon. The Millers bought a thousand acre cattle ranch and Nikki lived as a Pioneer woman and mother, for 10 years. During that time three more children were born, Susanna, Bettyrose and Karel Philip. Making a living in the small town of Monument, population 300, was difficult and in 1957, the family moved to the San Fernando Valley, California. R.T. worked for Rockwell International, "Rocketdyne" as a Lieutenant of Security during the space race to the moon and Nikki worked for Lockheed Aircraft as a Contracts Administrator while raising four children. Nikki was ahead of her time working in a "man's" industry and always active in politics, Nikki contributed greatly to woman's equity in the workplace. Being the strong willed person she was, Nikki often bucked the system at Lockheed, demanding respect for woman in the workplace. She met numerous film stars during her political activism and later retired with her husband to a small horse ranch in Durango Colorado in 1976. Back to the ranch. In 1988, Nikki and R.T. sold the ranch and moved to Pismo Beach for a more leisurely life without the burden of property and livestock. In 1992 R.T. was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died a year later. Nikki survived her husband and kept the same little house in Pismo Beach where she lived alone until being joined by her eldest daughter, Susanna, at the same residence in 2013. She remained involved in politics, was a member of several community organizations and was an active member of St. Paul's Catholic Church. Nikki will be sorely missed by family, neighbors, and friends and forgotten by none. Nikki was survived by her children: Roy T. Miller Jr., Susanna Miller Pence, Bettyrose Richardson and Karel P. Miller; grand- children: Brande' Ann Jones, Amy Marie Doyon, Roy T. Miller III, Oliver T. Miller and Stewart H. Miller; great- grandchildren: Blakely W. Glassman and Tayrn Linn Miller. Sign her guestbook at sanluisobispo.com/obituaries