Fern Miller entered into rest peacefully on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, in her 97th year. She was surrounded by her family and the caring staff at the IOOF nursing home in Barrie, Ontario.
She was the dearly beloved wife of Robert Miller and the loving and cherished mother of Margaret MacFarlane (Paul), David Miller (Margaret Ferraro), Barbara Ryckman (Warren), Carol Miller (Herb Hyman), and Donald Miller (Laura Wark), and grandmother of Robert and Rachel MacFarlane, and David (Kayla), Jesse, Hannah, and Emily Ryckman, and great-grandmother of Daniel Ryckman. She is fondly remembered by Stephen and Dianna Hyman, Claire Hyman and Jake and Jonah, and Arran and Claire Adams.
Fern was born and lived near Brougham, Ontario until she graduated high school and went to Toronto BusinessCollege. She then worked as a secretary at Colgate Palmolive until she married and returned to Brougham. She raised her family in Brougham until they were expropriated for the Pickering Airport project. She, Robert, and Donald moved to Carthew Bay near Orillia where she lived until she moved to Hawkestone to live with Barbara and her family until it was necessary for her to live in an assisted living facility.
Fern’s move to Carthew Bay provided her with a setting where she could pursue and enjoy her favorite pastimes. She had walks on Eight-Mile Point where she could enjoy the outdoors, swam often in Lake Simcoe, and gardened. Her whole life was devoted to her family and she loved having them come to her new home and go swimming and walking with her. She loved reading, traveling, sewing, knitting, quilting, “mending”, and painting landscapes and flowers. She inspired her children and grandchildren to love to read, travel, appreciate art and, in some cases, follow artistic and musical journeys.
Fern was a long-time member of St. John’s United Church in Brougham, Ontario and after the move to Carthew Bay the Forest Home United Church. She was active in the UCW and the Women’s Institute.
There has been a private family burial at St. John’s Cemetery, Claremont. There will be a celebration of her life on Saturday, June 23 at the Hawkestone Community Hall, 3 Allen Street, Hawkestone, Ontario. Open house from 1 to 5 p.m. with Welcome and Memories at 2 p.m.