Shirley Elaine Miller, 87, of Flowood, passed away on Sunday, November 8, 2020. Visitation will be held from 10:00am until 11:00am Friday, November 13, 2020 at Baldwin-Lee Funeral Home in Pearl. A Celebration of Remembrance will follow at 11:00am in the funeral home chapel.
Shirley was born June 21, 1933 in Decatur, Illinois to the late Noah Garlits and Maxine Evey. In 1953, she married her beloved husband of 55 years, Wayne Miller. In 1963, they moved their family to Pearl, Mississippi and built a transportation brokerage company, Truckers Exchange, Inc. which grew into a nationwide company. Shirley had still been active in the company as the owner until very recently. She was also very active in the Ballroom Dancing world. In the mid 1970's, she opened and ran Colonial Ballroom Studio in Jackson, and in 1990, opened Dance Connection in Pearl, both very successful studios. Shirley also traveled the country and beyond to compete in dance competitions, winning multiple awards and honors. She made friends easily everywhere she went and was friendly, kind, generous, caring and gracious to all. In her later years, her most favorite thing was spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was so very proud of all of them.
In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband, Wayne Miller; son, Steve Miller of Ocean Springs; and brother, John "Butch" Garlits of Mt. Pulaski, Illinois. She is survived by her children, Melinda Miller, Cheryl Dollar, Mike Miller, and Michele Cooksey, all from local areas. She also leaves seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Shirley was the center of the entire family and leaves behind broken hearts as she made such a huge impact on each family member. Friends, as well, will feel the loss as she was a very special person and will be deeply missed by all who knew her.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to:
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
JDRF of Mississippi
105 Westpark Drive #415
Brentwood, TN 37027
