Miller, Lois M.

Celebrating the life of Lois Mae (Wehrman) Miller who lived to 89 years old. Lois was born in Lexington, Missouri. Her parents were Virgil Lee and Eva Pauline Wehrman. She was the third of 3 children. She attended Page City Country School, Locus Grove Country School, Higginsville High School and Asbury College. She loved to recount that she was voted Blue Bird Queen at Higginsville High School. She graduated from Asbury College in 1952, and went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Christian Education. Lois was married June 3, 1955 to her college sweetheart James Paul Miller.

After she was married, she remained close to Ruth and Jay Purviance and Richard and Eva Wehrman, her siblings and their spouses. She would have her children put together candy boxes and gifts to send to their families on the mission field at Christmas. The Wehrman families enjoyed time together especially when younger, with all their children, on Evil and Virgil Wehrman farm. Those times included cousins Andy, Tim, David, Dan and Steve Purviance with Esther and Karen Wehrman, with Lois’ children Debbie, Michael and Diana. Memories of those times are precious.

Lois also devoted her heart and time to relationships with James’ family and parents, Otto and Mildred Bothner. With them, came James’ little sister Susan Gawron who was 21 years younger. This developed into a close bond that eventually extended to Susan’s husband Walt Gawron and their children Heidi (now Williams) and David.

Lois was a teacher at heart. She loved children, and to teach children. Shortly before her death, she was teaching her great-grand children Aubrey and Daxton Miller (the children of Ken, son of Michael) the song “Joy to the World”. This was a very appropriate song for Lois to want them to learn, because Lois devoted her whole life to teaching children of Jesus and serving Him and seemed always joyful. After Lois lived through Hurricane Harvey in 2017, she set out to reconnect with kindergarten students. One told her he accepted Jesus at his desk when Lois told him of Jesus and heaven. Also, Lois was very joyful and smiled through the hardest times when others would have not have maintained a Christian testimony. The birthday card she gave Diana in 2020 said it “made her day” when Diana told her she remembers things that Lois had taught her.

In mid-life, Lois worked as a “Master Teacher” with a Christian pilot school in California to develop the American Christian History curriculum. Her work for the kindergarten students was scholastic and detailed. It reflected “the principle approach” where every subject was approached as originating from God’s word and principles. While she did not receive tremendous human recognition, the published “Red Books” that contained this amazing material went on to serve home schoolers. Those today that speak on the news of “American’s constitutional republic” founded by our forefathers, were most probably schooled in this or a related teaching approach.

In 2006 after serving over 50 years in Christian service either as a minister’s wife or teacher, Lois moved with her husband Jim and her family to Modesto California. Her family then included husband Jim, eldest daughter Diana, middle child Michael and his wife Melodie with their children Andrew and Kenny (and now great-grandchildren Aubrey and Daxton, children to Ken) and youngest daughter Debbie (now

“Adriana”). Lois lived in various locations throughout Jim and her ministry, including Youngstown, OH, Modesto, CA, Seattle, WA and lastly Kingwood, TX.

As a young girl, Lois was a member with her family of Higginsville Methodist Church. It was there that the seeds were planted in her and her brother Richard and sister Ruth’s hearts for later Christian service once they met their spouses at Asbury College. Lois’ parents would give their Sundays away from the farm to take Lois, Richard and Ruth to church and attend the youth group later in the day on Sundays. This had a profound influence on Lois. Once in the ministry, Lois and Jim later pastored at an Evangelical United Brethren church in Youngstown, OH. Later, they pastored at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Seattle, WA.

Lois was attentive to natural health solutions, following in her Aunt Edna’s footsteps when it was not the “in” thing to do. To the end, she was researching how to naturally heal and sleep. Her interest in natural healing helped direct her daughter Diana to natural healing when Diana was diagnosed with cancer in 2007. Diana says Lois gave her life three times: first at birth, second when Lois led her to put her faith in Jesus at age 5 (when Lois told Diana that if she were the only little girl on the earth Jesus loved her so much he would die for her alone), then when Lois’ interest in natural healing supported Diana’s healing journey.

Lois focus was her children that she poured her life into, taught and cooked for. She played the piano well and would wake her children up on Sunday mornings with beautiful songs from the piano. Lois was an excellent cook and always labored to make her family wholesome cooked meals. She found time to sew her children’s clothes. Her ingenuity enabled her family meet its needs. Lois’ mind was always working on her family’s care and her teaching.

Lois loved not only children, but people. Her last 11 years in assisted living in Kingwood, TX, and “the condo” with Debbie once Jim died, were a blessing to her and she blessed many of the association’s residents. She was always thinking of how to get through to the hard-to-reach and be their friend. She said she loved her home because it was private, like being on the farm. She would sit hours at her computer, researching health ideas, communicating with family by phone and email, and locating books and helpful items on the internet. Up until her last surgery, her mind was working and alert and she was loving and contributing to those she loved and who loved her. Her last days post-surgery were spent at Heritage Home with loving caretakers, after her sister-in-law Susan Gawron and son Michael Miller saw the wisdom in rescuing her from the hospital where she was admitted. Lois enjoyed these last days with good food, loving 24-hour care and, finally, having the angels transport her to heaven when she went permanently into her eternal sleep the morning of December 23, 2020.

We love you Lois, mom, grandmother, and aunt and will be forever grateful of your care and love for us, and your contribution to our lives as it flows through us to the next generation. We know you are now enjoying your time now with your parents, Eva Wehrman, Jay Purviance and those others you knew and loved who went to their heaven-home before you. Say hello to Jesus for us, and since time on earth is so short it is appropriate to say “We will see you soon!”.