Joann R. Miller

Joann Riggs Miller passed away on June 1, 2023, at her home in Mill Run, Frederick. She was born to William and Leota Riggs on August 24, 1934, in Weston, West Virginia.

After graduating from Weston High School, where she enjoyed playing the euphonium in the marching band, she moved to Washington, D.C., with several girlfriends. They worked for the FBI as fingerprint examiners and lived in an apartment in Georgetown. She attended the Strayer Business School before meeting the love of her life, James Marvin Miller, also from West Virginia, while they were both working a Christmas holiday job at Woodward & Lothrop in downtown D.C. They married in 1960 and settled in Arlington, Virginia.

After the sudden loss of her husband, James, in 1984, Joann returned to school to finish her associate's degree in Accounting at Northern Virginia Community College. She was subsequently employed by several government agencies, retiring from the Financial Management Division of the Office of Administration, Executive Office of the President in 2007. She treated her family to special White House events during her tenure there, such as tours and several Easter Egg Rolls.

Joann often reminisced about watching her children and grandchildren play sports and sing and enjoyed watching old movies with them. Her home was beautiful, filled with paintings and antiques and her special little touches. She loved lamps and lampshades. She had a quick wit that is remembered by many.

She is survived by daughter Angela Brittain (husband Jim and children James and Jaiden), son James Ivan Ellis (wife Katherine and children Brian and Kirby), and daughter Sandra Miller (son Troy, partner Shakirra and their sons Zavier and Zylin).  She also leaves many beloved relatives and a special friend and caregiver, Maria Garcia.
 
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 10 at Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ, 15 W. Church Street, Frederick, MD. Family and friends may gather at 10 a.m., with the service at 11 a.m., with The Rev. Richard Leslie officiating. There will be a luncheon directly following the service. The interment will be at Columbia Gardens Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation at https://www.macular.org