Gayle Gardner Miller

Born on March 10, 1936, in Jacksonville, Florida, Gayle was the daughter of LeRoy Gardner and Hilda Stallings Gardner. She spent most of her life in Jacksonville, with brief but memorable chapters in Tallahassee and Miami, Florida, and later in Tucker, Georgia.

Gayle had a deep love for her hometown and often shared vivid stories from her childhood—riding the bus downtown with friends, visiting her uncle’s farm, and sitting on the hood of the family car waiting to walk across the newly opened Main Street Bridge in 1941. She overcame typhoid fever as a child, a testament to her strength and resilience from an early age.

She attended Hendricks Avenue Elementary and Landon High School before graduating from Florida State University in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. At FSU, she was an active and accomplished student: a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority and Garnet Key, secretary of the student senate, and named to Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. Among her classmates was a young Burt Reynolds.

After college, Gayle moved to New York City, working for the Methodist Church Board of Missions as an intern. Not long after, and with the encouragement of close family friends, she met and married the love of her life, Ulrick Ray Miller Jr., who preceded her in death. She devoted herself fully to raising their two sons before returning to the workforce, first as a substitute and then as a Special Education teacher in Tucker, Georgia. Her dedication and compassion left a lasting impression—former students often reached out over the years to express their gratitude.

Later, Gayle found her true professional calling in real estate. A gifted communicator and natural salesperson—"able to sell the horns off a billy goat," as her family would say—she worked with Jim Baker Corporation and later with ERA Davis & Linn first as a realtor then as a broker. Gayle consistently achieved top performance, earning Million and Multi-Million Dollar Producer awards, and held leadership roles including Charter Member of the JAR Million Dollar Club, Member of the Presidents Club, President of the Women’s Council of the Jacksonville Board of Realtors, and Chairman of the Realtor-Associate Division.

Faith and service were cornerstones of Gayle’s life. A lifelong member of First United Methodist Church of Jacksonville, she served in leadership and volunteer roles across numerous church committees. Her dedication extended into the community through organizations such as Wesley Manor (now Westminster Woods), where she served as Board Chair, as well as the Women’s Club and over 60 years of active membership in the P.E.O. Sisterhood, supporting education and opportunity for women.

Gayle is survived by her sons Rick (Debbie) Miller of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Gardner Scott Miller of Atlantic Beach, Florida; her sister Ann (Charlie) Dison of Jacksonville; and her beloved niece Kimberly, whose care and support during Gayle’s final years were a blessing. She is also survived by many other nieces, nephews, and dear friends whose lives she touched deeply.

A memorial service and inurnment will be held at Oaklawn Cemetery in Jacksonville at 11:00 AM Saturday, September 20, 2025.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to a charity of your choice. Two organizations close to Gayle’s heart were Volunteers in Medicine Jacksonville (VIM) and Downtown Ecumenical Services Council (DESC).