Erma Jean Gideon Miller (Jeannie) passed away at home September 21, 2020 surrounded by family. She was born May 16, 1929 to Martin Dewey and Edna Ruth Almy in Minot, North Dakota. Erma Jean was the fifth of eight children. On her 17th birthday, the family moved from Minnesota to Centralia, Washington, and as fate would have it, she soon met and married Ferdinand Gideon on October 14, 1947. They raised three children in the same house at Black Lake near Olympia, Washington - Erma living there for over 40 years.
Family, faith, friends, and children were the center of her life, punctuated with a lifelong passion for music. Blessed with a beautiful soprano voice, she was asked to sing at many family weddings. With a little arm twisting (though not very hard) she was also known to belt out a few verses of Blueberry Hill. Family gatherings frequently included Erma Jean playing the accordion. Numerous neighborhood kids enjoyed her cookies served with Kool-Aid. From 1968 to 1971 Jeannie and Ferd operated the Black Lake Grocery Store, and in the 1980’s they sold wood crafts at the Olympia Farmer’s Market. After Ferd’s death in 1987, Jeannie worked for a time at the Tumwater Mega Foods market where she met Evan Miller. They were married August 24, 1991, and traveled the US until his death in 2015.
Erma Jean was an active member of the American Legion Auxiliary, and volunteered many hours to her church, Baby Bank, various charities, and her local election board. Being a child of the Great Depression, she was very resourceful and as her children can attest, was a serial recycler before the word was invented. Erma Jean will forever be remembered as a loving wife, sister, mother, and grandmother, always positive, caring, and happy no matter the circumstance.
She is survived by sisters Donna Boudreaux of Kerrville, Texas and Betty (Doug) Croft of Vancouver, WA and sister-in-law Shirley Skidmore of Shelton; sons Garry (Toni) Gideon and Marty (Elaine) of Olympia, daughter Marla (Allen) Hanna of Vancouver, WA and stepdaughter Deborah Miller of Spokane; six grandchildren, Melissa (Ben) Hanna, Daniel (Renae) Gideon, Zachary (Sara) Hanna, and Seth Gideon of Olympia, Katie (Mike) Doolittle of Tumwater, and Rosanne (Johnnie) Gideon of Cameron, Montana; ten great-grandchildren, Alex, Ben, Ryan, and Lily Gideon, Adriauna, Mya, and Reese Hanna, Seth H. Gideon and Savannah and Connor Doolittle.
