Delores (VanDrasek) Miller, age 94, formerly of Hartford and Englewood, Florida, passed away on Monday, June 24, 2024 at Forest Glen Assisted Living in Dowagiac, MI. As per her wishes, cremation has taken place, and a graveside service will be held at Maple Hill Cemetery in Hartford at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to the Hartford United Methodist Church.
Delores was born in Watervliet, on January 1, 1930. If anyone asked her for her birth date, she would proudly say “I was the first baby born in Berrien County in 1930.” She was the daughter of Adolph “Ake” and Marien (Yates) VanDrasek who preceded her in death. Delores graduated from Watervliet High School. After graduation, she married Maurice “Maurie” Miller on Nov. 20, 1948. She and Maurie were married 66 years until his death in 2015.
Delores first worked at the Hartford Day Spring. After her children were grown, she worked alongside her husband at their family owned business, Miller Thermometer Company in Hartford until retirement. Her greatest joy was spending time with family and attending activities her children and grandchildren were involved in.
She is survived by her children, Vickie (Howard) Weatherwax of Sandusky, OH; and Denise (Scott) Smith of Hartford, MI. She is also survived by four grandchildren, Erin (Matthew) Waggoner, Trevor (Sarah) Weatherwax, Amanda (Steve) Veldman, and Bethany (Justin) Diesbourg and nine great-grandchildren; her brother, Gordon (Sandra) VanDrasek; her sister-in-law, Marcia VanDrasek, and several nieces and nephews.
Preceding her in death is her husband, Maurice “Maurie” Miller, and her daughter, Elaine Miller, her brother, John “Jack” VanDrasek, her sister and brother-in-law, Marie (Douglas) Wendzel, her sister and brother-in-law, Norma (Lawrence “Bud”) Hastings, and a baby sister, Marilyn VanDrasek.