Verna J Miller

Verna Jean Miller passed away unexpectedly on November 15, 2025. She was 81 years young, surrounded by her family and loved ones, as she made her journey into the loving arms of Jesus, her Lord and Savior.

Verna was born June 5, 1944, in San Bernardino, CA. She lived in a small one-bedroom house with her mom, dad, and brother, and used a pull-chain toilet. The house was behind her grandma & grandpa Bailey’s house, where her aunt also lived. When she was five years old, she moved a block down the street next to her cousin, Richard. She had two aunts and uncles, her cousin David, who lived less than a mile away, and many other family members nearby. Family was everything when she was growing up, and she never lost sight of their importance.

When Verna was seventeen, her family moved from Colton, California, to Tucson, Arizona, where she spent her last year of high school and graduated from Rincon High in 1962.

Verna met the love of her life, Chuck Miller, in 1961. They were joined in marriage in 1969 in Tucson, Arizona, and shared 56 wonderful years together. From the time she was just a little girl, Verna always dreamed of becoming a wife & mother. She sadly lost three babies before her “miracle baby,” Marla, as she would call her, was born in 1975. Verna & Chuck raised Marla together in Tucson, and in 2000, Verna became a grandma for the first time, to her granddaughter, Kaytlin. Her second granddaughter, Elianna, was born in 2003. In 2010, Verna was blessed with her first grandson, Tristan, and in 2012, her second, Rhyland. Verna’s last granddaughter, Addison, was born in 2016. Verna’s first great-grandson, Milo, was born just two short weeks before her passing.

Verna & her husband Chuck, brother Gary, and sister-in-law Brenda owned a city block on South 12th Ave in Tucson, with an A&W Root Beer and ice cream parlor and mini golf, for a few years. She really enjoyed her time running the restaurant and would even fill in as a car hop when her employees didn’t show up. Eventually, it became too much for them, and they sold it. Verna went on to cosmetology school and became a manicurist. She worked at Edwards Headhunters, The Hilton, and Hair on Broadway. Eventually, she decided to work only privately and did nails for a lady and her five friends at the lady's home for years. Verna had several other jobs throughout her life, including babysitting children in her home, working at the Tucson building inspection office, and at Montgomery Wards, where she also modeled for them. The College Shop, City of Tucson, Valley National Bank, Southern Arizona Bank, and finally, she retired from the Tucson Unified School District after 20 years of service there.

In her younger years, she was a very talented pianist. She enjoyed roller skating, ice skating, going to auctions, patio sales & buying and selling things for fun. After she retired, she enjoyed going to thrift stores, playing games, decorating for holidays, making blankets, and collecting things. She also liked cooking, loved anything chocolate, and made the very best homemade vanilla ice cream.

Verna enjoyed traveling and was blessed to see many places in her lifetime. She & Chuck took several trips throughout the country with their various friends over the years. Among her favorite places she got to see were Yellowstone, Niagara Falls, and a cruise to Alaska. She also enjoyed camping, fishing, and staying in RV parks. She was blessed to go on several vacations and trips with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids, too.

Verna was a person who cared for everyone. She would send dozens of cards a month and never forgot a birthday or significant event. She would call, email, and text others to check on them or tell them to have a great day. She was such an encouragement to everyone & loved sending memes. Her smile and laughter always filled the room.

Her greatest joy in life was her family—her husband of 56 years, raising her daughter, and caring for and spending time with all of her grandkids. In 2005, she moved into a new home in Vail, Arizona, just across the street from her daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. It was her dream come true to help take care of her grandkids. She would wave to them most mornings as they left for school and often pick them up after school. She played many games with them, spent time at each other’s houses, and was very supportive and involved in their lives. She made sure to attend every piano recital, dance recital, school program, activity, baseball game, and graduation she could physically participate in. It was a true blessing to her family to have her so close and to know they could always count on her at a moment’s notice.

Verna was a loving wife, mother, grandma, great-grandma, & daughter. No one ever stayed a stranger for long in her presence. Verna loved getting to know people, and to know Verna was to love her and to be loved by her, which was a true blessing. She was a strong, beautiful, selfless woman who was caring, giving, and serving others, always putting everyone before herself.

Verna’s treasured parents, Vernon & Betty Kelley, raised her and her brother, Gary, to know the Lord our God and to seek His kingdom above all else. She always knew that this world is not our home. She was baptized at the age of 16 at the Colton Church of Christ by her beloved grandfather, Elbert Bailey, and then continued to live her life in preparation to meet the Lord.

She was predeceased in death by many loved ones, including her father, Vernon Kelley, brother, Gary Kelley, and granddaughter, Addison Avina.

Verna was truly a Godly Christian woman who loved her family more than anything on this earth, but above all else, she loved the Lord our God, and we know how overjoyed she now is to be in his presence, reunited with all her loved ones who went on before her.

She is survived by her mother, Betty Kelley; Husband, Chuck Miller; beloved daughter, Marla Avina; son-in-law, Robert Avina; Grandchildren, Kaytlin Shermett, grandson-in-law, Joseph Shermett, Elianna Avina, Tristan Avina, Rhyland Avina & and great-grandson, Milo Shermett.

She will be laid to rest on December 6, 2025, at East Lawn Palms Mortuary & Cemetery in the Garden of Memories near her beloved granddaughter, Addison.

Verna will live in our hearts forever and will continue to guide us in our lives, even in her absence, through the Godly example she set for all of us. In her own words: “Family is everything, people are not perfect, and the one thing in life is forgiveness, the joy, laughter, and also sadness. The most important thing is the way to heaven with God and Jesus in your life.”

You’re finally where you have always wanted to be. No more pain, no more tears, no more longing for home. We will all miss you every single day, but we know you are patiently yet eagerly waiting to see us again someday. You fought the good fight, kept the faith, and have now received your crown.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. In the future, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

2 Timothy 4:7-8 LSB

“See you later, alligator, in a while, crocodile….”