Joy Erlichman Miller PhD

She was born on December 8, 1950, in Peoria, IL to Harry and Dee (Kahn) Erlichman. She married John Miller on October 17, 1976.

He survives along with son, Josh Miller, daughter-in-law Kelly (Katkowski) Miller, and grandchildren Margot and June Miller.

Joy attended Richwoods High School and went on to study education at Southern Illinois University. She taught at St Philomena and Illini Bluffs, where she became the school counselor. She attended Bradley University and received her Masters Degree in Counseling.

From that moment forward she practiced counseling for nearly 50 years. She opened her own practice, Joy Miller & Associates, in the late 80s. She went on to write 8 books focusing on relationships, women’s issues and holocaust studies. She hosted a weekly radio show, and later a weekly mental health television segment that ran for 25 years on WMBD and WEEK-TV. She went on to receive her PhD from Walden University, with research focused on coping strategies of female holocaust survivors. She became a faculty member at Walden, and later at Bradley University and taught until earlier this year.

Joy created the Peoria Holocaust Memorial and chaired the Button Project which collected 11 million buttons to honor the 11 millions victims. She was also the promoter, partner, and owner of the Peoria Women’s Lifestyle Show for 24 years.

After retiring from seeing clients, but still actively managing her practice, Joy founded Resiliency Productions. Each year she hosted the Resiliency and Happiness conference, the largest resiliency event on the planet, an event which connects celebrities, clinicians and professionals with the goal of sharing strategies for personal empowerment and reliance.

But so much of what is most important about Joy cannot be quantified by her achievements. She had many hobbies and interests, but her greatest passion was connecting with people. Joy had an incredible ability to engage with people, and connect when them deeply and authentically. She maintained and nourished strong relationships with people that spanned nearly her entire lifetime.

Joy had many hobbies, like travel and collecting, but her greatest passion was photography. Joy loved to photograph nature, flowers, and most importantly birds. She spent countless hours at the rookery or waiting under a tree to get the perfect shot of an osprey or her favorite eagle.

Despite her busy schedule Joy always found time for her family. She was deeply devoted to her husband John, and cared for him through many illnesses. She adored her son, his wife, and her two granddaughters. Joy was happiest when spending time with her grandchildren. It’s truly a blessing that she was able to be surrounded by her whole family for a loving Thanksgiving only days before she passed away.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at Davison-Fulton Woodland Chapel with Rabbi Bryna Milkow officiating.

Burial will be in Peoria Hebrew Cemetery, followed by a reception at Congregation Anshai Emeth.

Online condolences may be made at www.davison-fulton.com