Obituary of Virginia Thornton

Virginia Ruth Miller, born in 1930, passed peacefully on June 25, 2021, surrounded by her loving family. Memorial Service to be held on 7/1/2021 at 11:00 am with a reception to follow at HPPC in Wynne Chapel (McFarlin Rd) 3821 University Blvd. Graveside service will be at Restland 3:00 pm. Virginia Ruth Miller was born in Oak Mulgee, Oklahoma in 1930 to two of the best parents in the world, James F Miller and Lillian Grant Miller. They managed to survive the Great Depression, the polio epidemic, and WW2. Virginia well remembered D-Day, sitting on her porch listening to the festivities she was not allowed to attend as a young woman. She would be patriotic for the rest of her life, always tearing up at parades and fireworks. Virginia graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1953 and began her career as a teacher the following fall at Hillcrest High School. She married in 1955 and had two children, Larry and Laura. She loved them fiercely and did all that she could to make sure that they were filled with love and laughter. She continued to teach English at Hill Junior High to share her great love of learning and to spend summers with her kids. She later retired from teaching to take care of her mother who had Alzheimer’s disease. She cared for her with great love and devotion. Virginia was a staunch supporter of her children's careers and was fiercely proud of them. She loved her son-in-law and daughter-in-law and adored her three wonderful grandchildren, Bis, Adrian, and Sebastian. She loved her dear brothers and their children and grandchildren, too. Her greatest joy was when they were all together. Virginia was a life-long learner and an avid reader of history, historical fiction, mysteries, and novels. She continued reading up until her last days. She genuinely loved music and attending concerts performed by her daughter and son-in-law. She avidly followed the Dallas Symphony and the Dallas Opera, attending her last concert just weeks before she entered the hospital. She also loved to travel and spent many happy moments in Alaska, Russia, Africa, Greece, and London. Her favorite trips always included her whole family when they traveled together to New Mexico, Montana, and Yellowstone. Virginia loved parties of all kinds and made sure that all who visited her home enjoyed themselves thoroughly. There were parties for recitals, Christmas, Halloween, birthdays, showers, family parties and luncheons. Through her teaching career and the Highland Park Presbyterian Church, she had many lifelong friends to whom she was dedicated and took great joy. She made and kept friends easily. Even during her brief time at The Reserve, she made many friends, and the staff all knew and loved her. Her constant caregiver, Anne and her longtime helper, LuLu both visited her in the hospital in her final days. Virginia was well-loved and will be sorely missed by all who knew her and were graced by her love, and enthusiasm for life. She taught us resilience, bravery and decency. She faced life’s hardships with courage and humor, teaching us all to do the same. We loved her very much and will miss her laughter and charm for the rest of our lives. Thank you, dear Mother, for the gifts you gave us all.