MILLER

MEREDITH SUSAN

Some of us spend much of our lives finding our vocation, but Meredith was born with a clear calling: she was, and will always be, a teacher. Meredith had made this evident to her family by the age of four, when she would arrive home from school each day and begin teaching the day's lessons to her own "class" of cardboard bricks. She tailored her instruction to her imaginary pupils, sensitive to the distinctions among them. Those distinctions, though invisible to the rest of her family, were of crucial importance to Meredith, who knew each "student's" full name and detailed biography.

Meredith dedicated her subsequent years of formal education and training to realizing her calling. Her family's travels exposed her to many educational environments, where she found supportive teachers and classmates and friends and admirers. After special-needs preschool in Mt. Lebanon, she attended the Royal Kent School in Oxshott, Surrey, England, and then the Woodfield School for special-needs children outside of London. She subsequently was the first special-needs child to attend Harper Elementary School in Wilmette, IL, until her family moved back to Pittsburgh, where Meredith graduated from Upper St. Clair High School in 2004.

With much support from tutors and mentors, Meredith went on to complete several years of adapted coursework in early childhood education through Carlow University, as well as practical training in various elementary schools and daycares in the Pittsburgh area. She found her vocational home at Tender Shepherd Preschool, where her early vision became a full reality. Alongside her dedicated and accepting colleagues, she worked with children in classrooms there for over twenty years. Some of those children also saw her at the Bible Chapel on Sunday mornings, when Meredith was a leader in preschool and kids' praise services, or volunteering at the church's annual vacation Bible school, which she eagerly anticipated as the "highlight" of her summer each year.

Meredith loved music, song, dance, and theater. She was a dedicated member of the Special Actors class at the Center for Theater Arts in Mt. Lebanon, and danced with USA Dance Pittsburgh's ballroom Special Needs Adaptive Program. She also was a long-time participant in Best Buddies at Duquesne University. In addition to a strong and loving community of former colleagues, congregants, classmates, students, and friends, she leaves behind a loving family: her parents, Susan and Robert Miller of Pittsburgh; her younger sister, Elizabeth Miller, of Providence, RI; her older sister and brother-in-law, Katherine and Scott Sager, and nephew and niece, Ezra and Evangeline, all of Madison, WI. Please pray for them and for her extended family, which includes her aunts and uncles, Janet Miller of Philadelphia, Owen and Patricia Rice of Tampa, and Alan and Martha Rice of Richmond; as well as her many cousins and second cousins, Dora, Kevin, Ian, and Christopher Hawthorne of Mount Vernon, OH; Monica, Paul, Jonathan, Daniel, and Oliver Murphy of Richmond; Christina, Tom, Luke, Mackenzie, Eliza, and Braxton Nagel of Philadelphia; Jessica Rice and Luke Anderko of Pittsburgh; Jeff Rice and Adam Stehle of Pittsburgh; Jonathan Rice of Richmond; and Joanna and David Thomas of New York. Meredith died alongside her loyal dog, Ava, and was preceded in death by her loving grandparents, Ruth and Robert Miller, and Louise and Owen Rice, all of Pittsburgh. While we mourn Meredith's passing, we grieve not as those without hope, knowing with full confidence that she is in the presence of the Lord she loved so much, and reunited with the loved ones that have gone before her (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Romans 8:38-39).

A Celebration of Life Service for Meredith Miller will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at The South Hills Bible Chapel, 300 Gallery Drive, McMurray, PA 15317, at 10 AM EDT, with a luncheon to follow. All are very welcome. Please RSVP if you plan to stay for the luncheon, so that we can get an accurate count for catering purposes. Sign up using this link by Friday, April 18, 2025: Miller Celebration of Life Luncheon (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A094EADAA28A7FB6-55951307-meredith).

For those of you who are unable to attend in person, you can also join the service via livestream (https://biblechapel.online.church).

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Meredith Miller Memorial Fund, supporting initiatives for Tender Shepherd Preschool and The Bible Chapel's Special Needs Ministry, two ministries where Meredith's dedication and impact were deeply felt. To contribute, donations may be sent to Endurance Foundation, 300 Gallery Drive, McMurray, PA 15317, with "Meredith Miller Memorial Fund" in the memo line.

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