Joan "Nan" Parfet Miller

Joan “Nan” Parfet Miller, a dedicated educator with a lifelong love of the people and places of

the American Southwest, passed away peacefully on April 27, 2023, at the age of 94.

Born on January 23, 1929, in Toledo, Ohio to Ralph Emerson Parfet and Margaret Nelson Buck,

Nan graduated from Maumee Valley Country Day School in 1946 and earned a B.A. in

Psychology from the University of Arizona in 1950. She followed her heart to teaching, heading

back to MVCDS for the 1950s.

In 1960, Nan married Robert “Bob” Fred Miller in Wellesley, Mass., and settled in Larchmont,

N.Y. In 1968, Bob was transferred to her hometown of Toledo, the headquarters of

Owens-Illinois. They raised their children across the Maumee River in Perrysburg before moving

to Paradise Valley, Ariz. in 1978.

Nan’s greatest passion was education, and she served on the boards of MVCDS and Phoenix

Country Day School. Dismay at the poverty and lack of opportunity amid the beauty of the

desert she loved sparked a fierce resolve that led her to spend years tutoring at elementary

schools across the Navajo Reservation.

She was also a talented tennis player, avid fly fisher, and member of the Junior League of

Toledo. Her appreciation for Southwestern cultures meant her home was a haven for Navajo,

Hopi, and other Native art.

Nan was predeceased by her brother Burnham “Skip” Parfet, her husband Bob Miller, and her

daughter Sarah Elizabeth Miller. She is survived by her son Jeffrey Scott Miller, her

stepdaughter Bonnie Jane Miller, and her grandchildren, James Holmstul, Joshua Miller, and

Serena Sears.

Nan Miller will be remembered as a sharp wit, a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, a

passionate educator, and a generous volunteer. Her legacy continues to inspire those who knew

and loved her.

Memorial services will be announced at a later date. Donations in Nan’s memory may be sent

to Hospice of Northwest Ohio.