Anna Lee (Kirkwood) Miller

Anna Lee Kirkwood Miller,92, passed away at her home in Leesburg, Florida on Tuesday, September 1, 2020. She was born December 8, 1927 in Wheatcroft, Kentucky, to the late Gaston and Verna Ellen (Newman) Cowan.

Anna’s family moved to Evansville, Indiana, during the depression from the small poor community of Wheatcroft, where her father was a coal miner. Anna would walk her grandmother every Sunday to a church in Evansville near the corner where they lived. This is where she found the Lord and would begin her journey learning and following Christ.

Anna excelled in bookkeeping and accounting in high school and would find work with local companies needing her help. Anna was hired at that time by the largest private Oil and Drilling company in Southern Indiana and Illinois, Lohman and Johnson Oil and Drilling company. She eventually became their accountant for not only there business but also their private lives.

She retired with the respect of all her peers and most definitely the owners of Lohman and Johnson at the age of 62.

Anna had many talents and hobbies. She volunteered as a tap dancer for the local USO during the WWII effort. Because of her love of dancing, she met her husband John Kirkwood Jr. of 42 years at a local dance club after the war when big band music and dance was at its peak. She became the secretary of the local Rose Society, and won multiple ribbons for her roses. She also won several ribbons entering her roses by mailing them in plastic tubes to the renowned California Rose Society. Anna was a local Antique dealer in Evansville and in Florida, she dealt mainly in Antique French and German bisque and porcelain dolls. She made museum quality dresses and hats and dressed them in authentic antique fabric and lace. Her dolls were exquisite. She was a member of the international Chapter of doll collectors. In addition, she became an Antique restoration specialist and restored many Hummel and other figurines for professional dealers. She never went to any institution of higher learning or was professionally trained but she truly had a God given talent.

Anna Lee married again after the lost of her first husband to Albert C Miller. Anna and Albert had enjoyed a wonderful life together for 22 years. They traveled to Africa on a mission trip to help build a hospital for AIDS victims in a remote small village in Tanzania. They also made a trip to the Holyland which was her most treasured, during their travels.

One of Anna,s proudest achievements was the co-founder of the First Baptist Thrift Store of Leesburg, Florida at the age of 78. The Thrift store funds many local missions and out reach programs for the Leesburg community i.e.: shelter for homeless, drug and alcohol programs for both men and women, shelter for battered women and their children, and many more which are located on the church campus in the center of downtown Leesburg. Eventually, it became First Baptist most successful mission for the local out-reach programs. Many wonderful people have volunteered their time in helping the Thrift store become a success in its approximately 15 year journey. Anna will never know nor will we know just how many hundreds of people where touched by those missions, because of her faith and obedience to the Lord and following his plan for her life. She retired from the Thrift Store at the age of 89.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and her first husband, John W. Kirkwood in 1996.

Anna is survived by her beloved husband of 22 years, Albert C. Miller; son, Tony Kirkwood; daughters, Kathy Kirkwood Nelis (Kevin) and Rebecca Kirkwood Hazelton (Bill); six grandchildren; and five great grandchildren.

Private Graveside Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8, 2020 at Alexander Memorial Park, officiated by Pastor Bobby Cox, with burial to follow.

Memorial contributions may be made to any local hospice organization or the American Cancer Society.

Condolences may be offered online at www.AlexanderEastChapel.com.