Rya Dolores Miller

Known as Dolores to her friends, she was born in 1931 in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Dolores lived a good part of her childhood just outside of Moscow, Russia. At 16 she was reunited with her mother in Wisconsin. After several years she moved to Buffalo, New York, where she met her husband of 64 years, Michael Miller.

Dolores has lived in Detroit, Buffalo, and Cleveland before moving to California in 1967. She worked as a waitress, a real estate agent, a market researcher, a colorist, a jewelry maker, and a crafter. Dolores was fluent in English, Spanish, and Russian.

While in California, with the help of some good friends she started a restaurant called the Little Cafe in downtown San Diego. A year later her husband joined in the restaurant operations until they both retired 27 years later. The restaurant motto: “We seat 100, 20 at a time!” Dolores and her husband wrote a cookbook which included many stories from the cafe's history and had recipes of the dishes served at The Little Cafe.

Dolores loved playing her mandolin and was an original member of the San Diego Mandolin Orchestra. She served as a docent and translator for the Russian Arts festival and The San Diego-Vladivostok Sister City Celebration. She was an avid folk dancer, square dancer and clogger performing at the Del Mar fair on a regular basis. She also was an active YMCA member and was selected with her husband to be the poster couple for healthy seniors campaign. She made and sold her own jewelry and helped her husband in a wood clock business they had after the restaurant was sold. When she was 80 she self published a book about her life in Russia.

Dolores with her husband has traveled almost the entire USA including Hawaii and Alaska, visited the former Soviet Union, Europe, Caribbean, Mexico, and enjoyed camping and going to the beach. She was known for arranging potlucks with folk dancers and orchestra members.

Dolores was noted for her humor, kindness, willingness to help others, thriftiness, and her devotion to her husband.

She is survived by her husband: Michael Miller; daughters: Dianne Althouse and her spouse and Gail Barclay and her spouse; grandsons: Michael Althouse, Richard Allen Barclay III and his spouse, Jacob Beau Barclay; and a great grandson Richard Allen Barclay IV as well as several nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews throughout the states.

Her brothers Jack and Charles Grood and her sister Carol McCholl all preceded her in death.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust:

https://freedommerchants.com/lamoth.html

There will be a private service held on January 26, 2017. Funeral arrangements are by El Cajon Mortuary.