Barbara M. Miller

 Barbara Marie Miller, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, died June 10, 2026, surrounded by family members, whom she made sure everyone knew were the most important people in her life. A funeral service will be held at 2:45 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2026, at First Lutheran Church – Geneseo.  The visitation will be held before the funeral service, from 2:00 – 2:45 p.m.  Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at Rook’s Creek Cemetery located in Graymont, IL.  Vandemore Funeral Home – Geneseo Chapel will be assisting the family with arrangements.

Barbara was born on May 6, 1943, in Pontiac, Illinois, to the late George and Nettie (Juenger) Akers.

Barb grew up on farms near Pontiac, Herscher, and Clifton. She excelled at every grade level and in higher education, graduating second in her class from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais in three years while raising small children at home. She met her husband, Richard Miller, while both worked at Walgreens in Kankakee. The couple married on November 22, 1961.

Barb was a young mother who somehow managed to do it all. While raising her five sons, she continued her education and built a successful career as a public-school teacher and then with the United States Department of Defense, where she blazed trails for women. Her public service took her to Europe twice. An avid reader, she stayed informed and cared deeply about public policy and its effect on people’s lives. She was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Clifton, Illinois.

Barb loved to cook and garden and found great joy in gathering family around the table. She delighted in doing craft projects with her children and then her grandchildren and teaching them how to cook her popular “specialties” that her children loved and then made on their own when they grew up. She made sure that her sons knew how to do every household task so they wouldn’t be a burden on anyone else.

Barb treasured her family. She particularly adored her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who brought her endless happiness and pride. Time spent with them was among her most cherished moments right up to the end. Her boundless love for them will remain a guiding light in their lives.

Barb is survived by her husband of more than six decades, Richard; her brother, Kenny George Akers; her five sons, Richard, Dennis, Douglas (Shannon), Darian (Tonya) and Devin (Sharrie); her grandchildren, Kristina, Vanessa, Crystal, Rosalee, Nicholas, Morgan, Reagan, Isabel, Ryan, Aiden, Adeline, Matilda, Max and Devin; and her great-grandchildren, Alexander, Aiden and Cali.

She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Nettie Akers, and her sisters Janet Bollheimer and Helen Jean May, and her great-granddaughter Maddie Adkinson.