Carol Elizabeth Miller

July 15, 2015

Carol Elizabeth Miller, 81, went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on July 15, 2015 at her home in Havana, Florida, surrounded by her family.

She was born in Bainbridge, Georgia on February 24, 1934.

The funeral service for Carol Miller will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 18, 2015 at Salem United Methodist Church in Havana, Florida.  Following the service, friends and family are invited to remember Carol and share their memories in the Fellowship Hall.  There will be a private family interment at Shelfer Cemetery.  The Reverend Greg Doss will officiate.  The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, July 17, 2015 at Faith Funeral Home in Havana, Florida. (www.faithfuneralhome.com or 850-539-4300)

She was raised in Havana, Florida and graduated from Havana High School in 1952.  She attended Florida State University for one year before she married her high school sweetheart, Daniel Miller, in June of 1953.  Following their wedding, she accompanied Dan for his two years of service to the United States Army.  After Dan was discharged, they returned to Havana and she completed a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Florida State University.  She was a member of Alpha Delta Pi and remained active in their alumni organization.  Carol grew up in the First Baptist Church of Havana until she married Dan and immediately became a member of Salem United Methodist Church, where she served in many capacities.  She chaired the committee that provided meals for the families of deceased members and shared her beautiful roses with the congregation on Sunday mornings.

Carol Miller will always be known as “The Rose Lady”.  She was a judge for the American Rose Society, a certified master gardener, and exhibited and received numerous awards for her roses in Thomasville and Tallahassee.  In all of her gardening, her most cherished prizes were the smiles of the loved ones who enjoyed her roses.  She found joy in sharing her flowers for special occasions or for any occasion at all.  Her blooms and baked goodies brightened the desks of the police department, the library, antique shops, doctors’ offices, and the homes of her friends and family.

She is survived by her daughter Lawson M. Smith (Glenn), brothers Bobby Ellinor (Pipper) and Benny Ellinor;  sisters Mary Ellinor Solomon Moor, Martha Ellinor, and Roberta Ellinor Mitchell.  Carol’s grandchildren are Danielle Henn (Nick), Ryan Horak, Ben Horak, Caroline Smith (Brian Mathew), and Victoria Smith.  Other survivors include her aunts, Francis Butler, Nina Jean Freeman, and Helen Lester as well as her brothers and sisters-in-law, Bobby and Jan Miller, Jean Miller, and Margaret Doll.  She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews including Heidi Ivester (Rick), Matt Ellinor (Sullivan), and Dan Ellinor.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 61 years, Dan Miller (February 4, 2015), her mother, Ruby Elizabeth Lester Taylor, and her father, Robert Allen Ellinor.

She was simply the best in whatever she did and whoever she was: the best daughter, sister, granddaughter, mother, wife, grandmother, and friend.  Her talents were many and her generosity and service to others were unparalleled.  Through her many years of pain she could always laugh through her circumstances.  She never slowed down.  She found strength and joy in her rose beds, her family, and her faith in God.

Faith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.