Shirley Douglass Miller of Bourne died at the age of 83 on March 5, 2019 from cancer. She is survived by two daughters, Susan Douglass Baker of Falmouth and Regina Pereira of Superior Montana, six grandchildren, Diane Haston Jimenez, Paige Poole, Jesse Lopes, April Pereira, Taylor Baker and Isabella Pereira, five great grandchildren Kellen Poole Khalil Poole Anaya Lopes, Jesse Lopes Jr. and Rayne Lopes.
Many members of the community remember Miller from her time as a kind, compassionate receptionist at Bramblebush Pediatrics from 1984 to 2013. During her time at the office, she greeted patients with her warm smile and was an attentive listener to all who stood at her desk. Shirley was born on October 8,1935 in Harwich. She was an exemplary student at Bourne High School, who also attended Mount Holyoke College. She later worked as an accountant at a coat factory where she met her first husband, Fredrick Douglass. After they wed, Douglass returned to the Marines and advanced in rank as Sgt. Maj. As a result, the young couple and their children moved often. During this time, she was a stay-at-home mother who often volunteered at schools, church, and the Red Cross. Sgt. Maj. Douglass was one of the 241 Marines who died in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings. Miller re-married in 1986 to James Miller, a former Marine who worked as a tennis pro locally. The two lived in Cataumet, until he lost his life to cancer in 1995.
Mrs. Miller’s family will remember her as being generous and nurturing with elegance, quick wit, and a strong maternal nature. Friends may recall how she joyfully spoke of time she spent helping raise her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Services for Mrs. Miller: Wake at Nickerson Bourne on MacArthur Blvd, Tuesday, March 12 from 4pm to 7pm. Funeral Mass to be held at St. John the Evangelist Pocasset, Wednesday March 13 at 10 a.m., Burial will follow at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, MA.
Donations can be made in her name to American Cancer Society or Wounded Warriors.
