Nancy Edna Mae Miller Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Nancy Edna Mae Miller, age 70 of Little Canada, passed away peacefully while surrounded by family on July 1, 2022. She was preceded in death by husbands Mark Peterson and Barry Miller, her parents, Joachim and Dorothy Heille, and brother, Gary Heille. Nancy will be deeply missed by her children, Jacob (Courtney), Dorothy (Dan), Mike (Megan), and Ben (Sarah); grandchildren, Tianna, Brent, Henry, Alana, Eleanor, Charles, and Cierra; and great-grandchild, Leo; eight siblings, her congregation, and many other family and friends. Memorial service to be held Tuesday, August 2nd at 11 AM, with a visitation starting at 10 AM, at New Life Church, 6000 N 148th St. Hugo, MN. Nancy asked you not to waste your money on flowers. There will be a light luncheon at the church, and then a social gathering for all at the family's own Chanticlear Grill in Coon Rapids from 1:00-3:00 to share Nancy's favorite drink, Miller Genuine Draft. Nancy was born in Springfield, Minnesota as her dad Joe was working construction and carpentry around the state. She was incredibly proud of her parents and spent most of her childhood growing up in Spring Lake Park, where Joe built a house from an old school building. She lived through the great tornado of 1965, and the tornado of such a large household with 10 kids. She spent a lot of time caring for her younger siblings and cousins. She was much more likely to care about having fun and spending time with people than paying attention in school, at least at her alma mater, Spring Lake Park High School. She loved learning on her own and experiencing life, and would go on to, as she said, graduate from "The School of Hard Knocks". Those that grew up with her may know her as "Nancy with the smiling face", or just "Ed". Married four times, Nancy divorced twice and was widowed twice. Having been through heartache like this, she never complained. She would explain to anyone that asked that she wouldn't ask to change a thing, because her life brought her her four kids. Her relationship with her family was filled with laughter, music (Billy Joel, Mannheim Steamroller, and many movie soundtracks), love notes and letters, and constant affection. A self described homemaker, Nancy worked tirelessly to take care of her kids. She was a ridiculously good cook, which she learned from her mom, Dorothy, and took time to teach all of her own kids how to make the family staples: lasagna, turkey tetrazzini, Charlie's hotdish, and much more. Her meals are famous with a whole generation of Cambridge and Isanti kids who made their way through her house as friends. She taught her kids to read (including some inappropriate words), clean, drive, and balance a checkbook. She loved photography and sewing. She also worked with her kids and others as a volunteer for Young Astronauts, leading field trips, teaching, and turning scores of kids into lovers of astronomy, aeronautics, and science. Nancy ran her own business to provide for her family, cleaning homes and businesses around the metro. She never advertised or incorporated, but had constant work as word of mouth spread how great she was at her job. This work led her to meet Wayne and Deedy Harmala, who became lifelong friends, and to whom Nancy and her family owe immense affection and appreciation for sharing their home with Nancy for years. They embraced and loved Nancy as their own family. Nancy was amazed by all of creation, from the stones of the North shore to the rings of Saturn. She took many trips to Duluth and Two Harbors, hiking the state parks to see waterfalls and Lake Superior. She was an amateur astronomer herself, keeping a journal of what heavenly bodies she viewed with her backyard telescope, and showed anyone who cared how to see into space with her. Thank you for coming to read about our mom, sister, cousin, aunt, grandma, great grandma, and friend Nancy. Please leave a memory of your own to share with everyone else that cared about her. And, as a parting word, the last thing Nancy would say to us as kids when we went out the door, "Watch out for idiots!"

Tributes

Nancy Edna Mae Miller

July 19, 1951 - July 1, 2022

Tributes

Nancy Edna Mae Miller

July 19, 1951 - July 1, 2022

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