Ashley Ann Miller

Ashley Ann Miller is the middle daughter of Thomas Ashley Miller and Lori Ann Miller. Ashley was born in Denver, Colorado on July 5, 1991 and went home to heaven from Houston, Texas on March 17, 2020. Ashley is survived by her parents, sisters Nicole (Devin) Umscheid and Alyse Miller, nephew and niece Camden and Haddie Umscheid, grandmother Willa Curnow and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

Ashley spent most of her life in the Denver area. Her first nine years were lived in the Cherry Park neighborhood in what would become the new city of Centennial. In 1999, the family relocated to Naperville, Illinois for one year, and in 2000 returned home to Colorado, living in Littleton. In 2001, once again, (and finally) moved to Centennial, settling in the Piney Creek neighborhood. She attended Heritage Elementary, May Watts Elementary (Naperville), Cougar Run Elementary (Highlands Ranch), Indian Ridge Elementary, Laredo Middle School, and was proud to be a Smoky Hill High School Buffalo.

Ashley embraced sports, activities and friendships. As a youngster she swam on the Willow Creek III Dolphins, Holly Park Sharks and Piney Creek Heat summer swim teams. She played for Colorado Storm Soccer, Gold Crown Basketball, Aurora Parks and Rec Volleyball and Smoky Hill lacrosse feeder teams. In high school Ashley relished her involvement in Student Government. She lettered in swimming and diving, starting as a swimmer and finishing as a diver, played JV volleyball, and lettered in her favorite sport, lacrosse. With her high spirits, energy, and ever-present big smile, Ashley stood out in her interactions with teachers and fellow students alike. She was awarded the Faculty Award for Citizenship, the Faculty Scholarship for Future Educator, and the Kindness Award, now re-christened as the Ashley Ann Miller Memorial Kindness Scholarship.

Along the way, Ash kept busy with extra activities and work. She couldn’t wait to begin working, and landed her first job at Red Robin restaurants when she turned 16. She started as a hostess and advanced to server. But she especially loved to dress up in the Red Robin costume and meander among the guests, delighting the kids with special attention and her zaniness. Many are the parents who told us that their children loved Red Robin’s mascot! Tying it all together, Ashley was involved in designing apparel for the SHHS lacrosse team and ended up working for Bruczilla LAX.

Ashley graduated from Smoky Hill in May, 2009 and in the fall began her college education at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. She continued to work during college at Red Robin in both “The Fort” and in Centennial. In 2010 she was inducted into Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society at CSU. A big part of her college story was her membership in Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. Ashley deeply loved her sisters, and made friends who loved her back with gusto and remained close over the years. She truly cherished the activities, getting involved with the community through sorority outreach, and, as always, leading by example. She was the philanthropy chair for Spagammi, an event to raise money for Girls on the Run and Campfire Kids. As a Junior she landed an internship with Kellogg’s Company, travelling to the home office in Battle Creek, Michigan for training. She was absolutely thrilled! In December 2012, she graduated from CSU with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing.

Upon graduation, Ashley had an offer in hand to work for Kellogg’s in the Seattle area. In the midst of a reorganization, they withdrew the offer before she moved; thus began the difficult journey to find meaningful employment. Ashley worked in the management trainee program with Enterprise Leasing, as a marketing rep for Kellogg’s and as an independent contractor with Chipotle and Schlumberger. She worked in the Schlumberger Denver office for about a year before the operation there was closed and moved to Sugarland, TX. With that came the opportunity to be an employee with SLB, complete with a relocation package to the Houston area. In August, 2015, off she went to Houston.

The first months were tough, with a very demanding, rotating schedule that left her exhausted and threw her off her rhythm. But Ashley being Ashley, she summoned the energy to give her very best effort. She received an award from SLB as a founding member of a totally new department, Logistics Control Tower. Always seeking ways to stand out, she pursued certification in Six Sigma, and travelled to Paris (France, not Texas!) to further her education and advance in the company. She was a valued and loved employee at Schlumberger.

With her ever welcoming smile and openness to others, Ashley made new friends at work and in the apartment complex where she lived, and happily settled into her new home. She was quite taken with Texas, and envisioned remaining there for the rest of her days. In January 2018 she purchased a house, furthering her commitment to the area. She found a church home, Hope City, to feed her soul. She embraced her surroundings, and the people she encountered.

It cannot be left out how much Ashley truly loved her animals. From her childhood days of literally rocking herself to sleep while laying across the (very tolerant) family dog Midnight, to her tadpoles-into-frogs, hamsters, fish, birds, dogs and cats, Ashley spread her kindness to her pets as well. While in college, she rescued Cooper from a dumpster, and later rescued her cats Moo (for Mufasa) and Tye from shelters, and of course, her beloved Huskie, Copper.

Memorial contributions may be made in Ashley’s honor to Smoky Hill High School (reference Ashley Ann Miller Kindness Scholarship), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, or any charity of one’s choice.