Marian Jane Miller

Marian Jane (Swingler) Miller was born in Higham Ferrers, England, February 20, 1934 to Percy and Mary Swingler. She was the oldest of three children with sister Jill Gunnels and brother Peter Swingler. Marian lived with her family in Higham through World War II and made a number of lifetime friends with children sent to live with families in Higham to escape the bombings in London.

Marian married in 1953 and moved from England to various places throughout the US and Germany as an Army wife. She had three daughters, Vicki, Toni, and Tracy and they were her life. When they retired from the military, the family settled down in Apple Valley, Minnesota. When she divorced in 1972, she worked one full-time and two part-time jobs to support her girls and eventually moved from Apple Valley to Eagan.

Marian’s fulltime job was a Contact Representative for the Department of Immigration and Naturalization at the Fort Snelling Federal Building. This is where she met Richard (Mike) Miller and changed the course of her life. They were married in 1976. Mike was her “everything”. They moved to Washington D.C. when Mike accepted a transfer within the Department of Immigration and they completed their careers in 1994, retiring to Williamsburg, Virginia where they remained until they moved back to Minnesota to be closer to family in August 2018.

In retirement, she traveled the world with Mike visiting Australia, New Zealand, Russia, many countries throughout Europe and, of course, her beloved England. She also traveled extensively throughout the US and loved her time at their timeshares in Florida, Myrtle Beach and other locations.

Marian was a talented seamstress, sewing many of her own clothes and clothes for her daughters when they were younger. One of the memories her girls still laugh about was the Bavarian style dresses, complete with aprons and Bavarian hats, she made for herself and all three girls after seeing the Sound of Music! She loved her masterpieces but her girls – not so much! Marian could knit for hours and made many beautiful sweaters and blankets that will always be treasured by those fortunate enough to have them. She loved to cook and bake. She was the master of the proper British Yorkshire pudding and made the best mincemeat tarts, making the mincemeat herself. When she would visit her girls and their families, there were always favorites for each one that she would make for them during her visits. Marian loved to collect British Ainsley china flower pots, Hummels and she had an impressive collection of brass knick knacks, all of which had to be polished at least once a year, a chore her girls truly disliked.

Marian was blessed with four biological grandchildren, Jason, Crystal, Cody, and Kiley. She also had two step-grandchildren, Ryan and Melissa. She was “Great Nanny” to KenaDee, Harper, Grayson, Austin, Payton, and Blakely as well as to her step-great grandchildren Macy, Nolan, Addison, Noah, Evan and Bodie.

The last few years of Marian’s life, she struggled with Alzheimer’s, a cruel disease that robbed her of her mind, but not her spirit. Mike never left her side until he died on May 17, 2020. Marian was made of strong British stock and was like the “Energizer Bunny” – she kept going and going, until she was ready to join Mike in heaven. She was a remarkable woman who lived a remarkable life. She will be missed by her family and all who knew and loved her.