Dorothy Burke Miller

Dorothy Burke Miller, 94, of Decatur, GA, passed away on August 26, 2016 after a brief illness. Miss Miller was born in Wilson, North Carolina to Oscar C. Miller and Lillie Mae Jacobs Miller on September 29, 1921. In the early 1930's, her family relocated to Milledgeville, GA and "Dot" attended Peabody Elementary and High School, graduating in the top 5% of her class in 1939. Her interests during high school included stamp collecting, mineralogy, painting, sewing and needlepoint, playing the piano and reading classic literature.
After high school, Dot enrolled at Georgia State College for Women, majoring in Fine Arts, receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree, with Highest Honors, in 1942. She was a member of the Phoenix Society, a scholastic honor society, and was listed in Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities.
Upon graduating from college, Dot was accepted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1942, where she pursued a Master's degree in History, while simultaneously working towards her Ph.d.
Dot began teaching History and Latin at Druid Hills High School in 1944, at the age of twenty-three. Still eager to learn, she was admitted in 1948 to candidacy for the degree of Master of Arts at Emory University, which she earned in 1950, followed by a Master of Librarianship in 1951. This brilliant and energetic young woman earned four prestigious degrees before the age of thirty!
At the beginning of World War II, Dot was a certified Volunteer with the American National Red Cross.
Dot's teaching career, over the span of more than 40 years, included Druid Hills High School, Avondale High School, and Briarcliff High School.
In addition to her full-time teaching career, Dot also found time for tutoring, teaching piano, and participating in a local radio talk show, for which she was a book critic. Dot was a member of the American Association of University Women, where she served as Co-Chairman of International Relations; a member of the Georgia Education Association; the Decatur Chapter of the Association for Children's Education; and was the Boys and Girls Librarian for the Decatur-DeKalb Public Library.
In her leisure time, Dot very much enjoyed painting – oils, charcoal, and water colors. She became a certified member of the Amateur Artists Association of America in 1955. Dot also enjoyed writing and created a volume of her own poetry over the years. She loved gardening, cooking, music of every genre, and spectator sports. She was even invited by Mr. M. R. Van Leer, President of Georgia Institute of Technology, to be his guest in the President's Box at Grant Field to witness the Ga. Tech v. Tulane football game on November 11, 1944.
Dot is a long-time member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Decatur, GA.
She became a resident of Sunrise Assisted Living of Decatur in June, 2011, and until recently, was an avid reader, with interests in topics too numerous to list, but especially current events.
Dot is survived by her long-time friends, Dr. Dwight R. and Jean Weathers, Mr. Fred and Margie Powell, and Mrs. Hazel Adams.
A Memorial service will be held Tuesday, August 30, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 515 E. Ponce de Leon Avenue, Decatur, GA with Father Gregg Tallant officiating. Interment will follow at City of Decatur Cemetery, Decatur, GA. A.S. Turner and Sons Funeral Home and Crematory.


Funeral Home:
A. S. Turner & Sons
2773 North Decatur Road
Decatur, GA
30033