Leonie (Elliot) Miller

SALISBURY — Leonie (Elliot) Miller, 95, of Salisbury, died on March 21, 2011, after an unexpected, brief illness. Born on July 4, 1915, in the great gold fields town of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, she was the daughter of Agnes and Burton Elliot. In 1936, she met F. Stuart Miller, an American geologist, who was doing field survey work around Kalgoorlie for a mining company. They were married in 1939, in Berkeley, Calif., where Stuart was teaching geology. Three years later, she gave birth to her only child, Elliot Miller, in Washington, D.C., in 1942. In their younger working years, the couple traveled around the globe, living for three glorious years in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Leonie returned to the New York metro area in 1950, where Stuart commuted from their home in Rye, N.Y., to a series of positions at Pacific Tin Corporation. Leonie became a dedicated wife and mother, while playing tennis and working for local charities. Thirteen years in Rye, and 11 years in Greenwich, Conn., passed swiftly, and the couple retired to Salisbury where Leonie lived for the past 36 years. To give an idea of the social whirl of the Malaysia period, the couple often found themselves attending parties six nights a week. In Rye, the socializing was much more moderate, but Leonie was a wonderful hostess, and an amazing cook, with a bubbly, engaging personality and a warm, generous heart. Leonie was gifted with the art of interior design and her homes were always her pride and joy. She always made it a point to dress well, even when going shopping. Leonie’s light, inviting spirit, classic style, natural grace and elegance will be recalled for years in her beloved town of Salisbury. In recent years, the O’Dea family, her neighbors, were a special friendship for her, and her interaction with their youngest daughter, Nora, was a mellow relationship of the grandmotherly kind. She is survived by her niece, Leanda Elliot of Sydney, Australia; her sister-in-law, Alyson Elliot of Perth, Western Australia; and her son, Elliot Miller, of Salisbury. Leonie was a pillar of strength, love, kindness and affection and all will miss her dearly.For those of you who knew her, we ask that you hold her warmly in memory and cherish her in your hearts. No flowers or charitable contributions are requested. No memorial service is planned. A quiet, limited graveside ceremony was conducted for a handful of relatives and friends by the Rev. John Carter on the afternoon of Saturday, March 26.

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