Marguerite Yvonne Miller

Marguerite Yvonne Miller, 61, died peacefully on Friday, November 18, 2016, in Houston, TX. She is survived by sisters, Beth Wood and husband, Mel, of Houston, TX, and Jane Killen and husband, Jim, of Baton Rouge, LA; brother Chuck Miller and wife, Meg, also of Baton Rouge; nephews, Eric Wood, and wife, Diana, of Plano, TX; Kevin Wood of Brooklyn, NY and Joshua Miller of Baton Rouge and niece, Rebecca Gardner and husband, James, of Baton Rouge, LA. She is also survived by 3 grand-nephews and 2 grand-nieces. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Yvonne Miller of Crowley, LA. Visitation (1:00 PM-2:30 PM) and Mass of Christian Burial (2:30) will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 6646 Addicks Satsuma, Houston, TX 77084, on Monday, November 21, 2016. Burial will be arranged at a later date in Crowley, LA. In lieu of flowers, please honor Marguerite’s memory with a donation to Reach Unlimited of Cypress, TX, or Louisiana Special Olympics.

Words from Jane Miller Killen, younger sister:

Marguerite Yvonne Miller was born in 1955, a time when a Down Syndrome baby had a life expectancy of 12 to 15 years. At the tender age of three, our parents, under the assistance and guidance of family friend Bishop Maurice Schexnayder, enrolled her in St. Mary's School in Clarks, LA. Marguerite was lovingly nurtured and instructed by the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows . In 1973, she left St. Mary's and became a resident of Pinecrest State School in Pineville. It was here where Marguerite became actively involved in Special Olympics. A fierce competitor, she played t-ball for many years, travelling across the state to compete in various

tournaments. In later years, she inherited our father's love of the links and began playing golf. Marguerite was honored to attend a national competition where Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, awarded her with her medal. In her true exuberant fashion, Marguerite hugged Mrs. Shriver so tight, she almost snapped her in half!

Marguerite was the master of making potholders . Many of you were repeat recipients, as she ALWAYS had a stash of freshly loomed potholders on hand to give out! She also enjoyed working jigsaw puzzles, riding her bike, listening to music and singing along enthusiastically.

In 2011, Marguerite moved to Houston to be near Beth. She lived in a group home, operated by Reach Unlimited, with several other developmentally disabled ladies. She enjoyed various tasks at the Learning Activity Center. Both at her home and at the Center she made many friends. That was so easy for her to do!

In the fall of 2014, Marguerite moved to Silverado Memory Care community, where she received the additional needed care for dementia from the dedicated staff.

Marguerite lived her entire life never knowing the meaning of hate, only unending love for her family and those around her.

Words from Beth Miller Wood, older sister:

I have had the privilege of being Marguerite’s guardian since our mother’s injury in 1993 prevented her from doing so. From then until early 2011, Marguerite continued living at Pinecrest Developmental Center in Pineville, LA, where she was employed in the community and, as Jane explained above, participated in Special Olympics.

After moving to Houston in early 2011, she and I spent even more time together. For the first two years, she fully embraced her new life in Houston at Reach Unlimited. There were always group activities to be enjoyed, dances to attend, programs to sing in, volleyball games to play, etc. However, increasing difficulty with skills, depression and deteriorating verbal skills led to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in the summer of 2013. Along with the confusion and loss of skills, came a tremendous of frustration, anxiety and anger. Moving to Silverado in September, 2014, where the staff was trained in addressing Alzheimer’s symptoms medically, made a huge difference in the quality of her life. After a few months, a good balance was achieved where she was much less frustrated but throughout it all, her outgoing personality rose above it all. During the last few days of her life, all of the staff shared memories of her that illustrated to me that she truly exemplified the Special Olympics pledge which the athletes always recited prior to a competition: “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” We all thought her death was imminent, as she struggled to breathe, in a semi-comatose state. In her manner of sticking with tasks until she mastered them, she trudged forward toward death for two more days, until she could go no more. At the moment when her brave battle was over, I can imagine that she arrived jubilantly in Heaven, threw up her arms, and announced to Jesus and all the angels and saints, “I here!!!” A blessing to all who knew her, she will be greatly missed.