MILLER, Caroline Elizabeth

Caroline Elizabeth Miller, of Tempe and White Pine, Michigan, died on November 20, 2002, in Tempe. She was born in Ewen, Michigan on November 9, 1911, the only daughter of Ewen pioneers August and Henrietta (Klyver) Wallen. She began her education in the first kindergarten class of the new school in Ewen and graduated as class Valedictorian in 1929. She earned a baccalaureate degree and Life Certificate at Northern State Teachers' College, now Northern Michigan University, in Marquette, Michigan. She married C. Lowell Miller of St. Joseph, Michigan, in 1948. She taught in Ewen, Bergland, Trout Creek, Manchester, Benton Harbor, St. Joseph and White Pine, Michigan, and at the Out of Door School near Sarasota, Florida. Her teaching career lasted forty years until her retirement in 1975, and she was especially fond of teaching the love of reading in the primary grades. One of her greatest pleasures was meeting former students, her "kids", and their families. She was a member of the Community United Methodist Church in White Pine and the Ewen Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. She is survived by her daughter, Mary L. Miller of Tempe, nieces and nephews, Robin Otto of Tampa, Florida, Julie Fonner of Phoenix, John Wallen of Glenburn, North Dakota, and C. Jeffrey of St. Joseph, Michigan, cousins, including Maud Bjorner of Stockholm, Sweden, and sisters-in-law, Mrs. Lester Wallen of Tampa, Florida, Mrs. J.R. Hilliard of Chelsea, Michigan, and Mrs. Walter Wallen of Glenburn, North Dakota. She was preceeded in death by her parents, brothers, Lester, Klyver, Carl and Walter Wallen, and nephews, Klyver and R. J. Wallen. A memorial service was scheduled in Michigan when the lilacs bloom in the spring. Her family would love to receive favorite recollections from friends and especially from her "kids." Memorial contributions will be used to endow a scholarship in her honor for graduates of the Ontonagon Country, Michigan, communities in which she taught. Remembrances can be sent to the family at P.O. Box 11801, Tempe, Arizona 85284, or to the White Pine School District, White Pine, Michigan 49971. Arrangements by Messinger Indian School Mortuary. Published in the Arizona Republic on 11/24/2002.