Miriam Joyce McMinn

Miriam was preceded in death by the love of her life, Paul Harvey McMinn and other family members including her parents Charlie Edd and Clariece Butler, and older sisters Sharleen Smith and Willie Warren Love. She was the middle of 5 daughters and is survived by her younger sisters: Jimmie Sue Wesley and Gloria Jean Parker. She is survived her three daughters: Beverly Jean Kiesel (husband Donald Kiesel), Bonnie Jean McMinn (husband Wayne Whitten), and Barbara Jean Lee (husband Alan Lee) and grandson Robert McMinn (wife Diana McMinn) whom she helped raise. She is also survived by her other grandchildren Michael Pagel, Brian Pagel, Alana Brown, Kristina Bayuk, Austin Lee and three great-grandchildren.

Miriam’s face was always lit up with a huge smile and when meeting people, she would be the first to reach out her hand, introduce herself and greet them warmly. She was a woman of deep faith and loved the Lord with all her heart. She also loved her family deeply and when hugging them, she would lovingly squeeze them so hard it felt like they couldn’t breathe. She was extremely active and seldom sat still. She enjoyed sewing for herself and 3 daughters and making curtains for all the homes they lived in. She had a gardener’s green thumb and could grow anything and her home in Jacksonville, Florida won “Yard of the Month.” She had multiple bird feeders and bird baths in the back yard so she could watch them from inside the house. Although she never thought she was a good cook, her family totally disagreed with her on that issue and always thought it funny that she would try new, untested recipes when there was company over for dinner. In later years, she enjoyed trips to the Thrift stores to find little treasures and built multiple collections of bell and tiny clocks. She always loved returning to the farm she grew up on while her parents were alive. Her husband sensed her homesickness the year the song “Blue Christmas” came out and took her and their children on an unplanned trip to Mississippi so that she could spend it with her family.

Her surviving family members are saddened that Miriam has left us but rejoice in the knowledge that we know without a doubt that when she took her last breath on earth, she took her first breath in Heaven and someday, all of us will be eternally reunited!

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a love offering donation to the church of your choice or a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association in Miriam’s name.

A visitation for Miriam will be held Monday, March 25, 2024 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at Hardage-Giddens, Riverside Memorial Park & Funeral Home, 7242 Normandy Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32205. A funeral service will follow at 11:30 AM at the funeral home. A committal service will occur at 2:00 PM at the Jacksonville National Cemetery, 4083 Lannie Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32218.