Stanlee Miller Coy

06/01/1938 - 05/18/2025

Stanlee "Cissie" Miller Coy, 86, passed away on May 18, 2025. She is now with God and the loved ones who went before her.

Born on June 1, 1938, in Albuquerque, NM, Cissie was the daughter of the late Ymelda Chavez Dixon and Stanley Miller. Her early years were spent in New Mexico before the family moved to Washington, DC, to be near her grandparents, Senator Dennis Chavez and his wife, Imelda Espinosa ("Great Grams").

Cissie grew up alongside her beloved sister, the late Imelda "Bunny" De Diego. The two were not only sisters but best friends, exchanging wonderful letters for decades across continents—from Washington to Madrid, the Virgin Islands, New Mexico, and beyond.

After graduating from Smith College, Cissie met the late Albert Wayne Coy, Jr. while working at public television station WETA. They married in 1967 and remained devoted partners for 55 years. Together, they adventured on sailboats, cooked chile and beans (the New Mexican way) for family and friends, and raised two children in a happy home on Cathedral Avenue.

Cissie was a devoted daughter, loving wife, and adoring mother—but also an inquisitive student of the world, avid reader, and a lifelong writer. She published seven books, worked as a journalist, and served as an editor at AARP. Perhaps her proudest work was writing the definitive biography of her grandfather, Senator Dennis Chavez.

The most important thing that should be remembered about Cissie Coy, however, is her heart. Her deep faith in God, shaped by Jesuit teachings and the Catholic Church, nurtured a boundless compassion and love for others—an impression that remains with all who knew her.

She is survived by her son Charles Coy and his wife Kristin Lowe of Los Angeles; daughter Imelda Horowitz and her husband Mark Puszkarczuk of Wilmington; niece Denise De Diego of New York and nephew Ismael De Diego of Madrid.

Cissie was blessed with five grandchildren who will miss everything about their adoring granny who always had time to read a story, snuggle up for a movie, or just listen to them chat: Samuel Horowitz, Eliza Horowitz, Maxwell Coy, Keaton Coy, and Noah Puszkarczuk. And she will also be missed by her step grandchildren Alexis and Chase Puszkarczuk.

Cissie's extended family—the Tristanis, De Diegos, and Coys—were central to her life, as was her dear circle of friends in Washington and beyond. She will be profoundly missed by all who were lucky enough to know her.

A funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (7500 Pearl Street, Bethesda, MD) on Tuesday, May 27 at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for a donation to The Parkinson's Foundation at www.parkinson.org