Meta “Kay” Goetze Miller, 88, was a longtime Mill Pond Road resident in Port Washington.
Meta passed away on Easter Sunday, very close to the time of a sunrise service ending. A very significant day and time for someone who spent more than 20 years as the secretary of The United Methodist Church of Port Washington. The energy of her heart will always reside at that Church.
Raymond Miller, her husband, was born in the family home on Mill Pond Road in 1921 and was involved in chronicling the history of the area. He predeceased her in 1991, having retired from The New York Times.
In 1993, she moved to Bridgeport, NY, just outside Syracuse to be near her daughter, Dr. Lynn E. Miller.
Then, in 1994, arrived the apple of her eye, her much beloved grandson, Michael Brownmiller.
Meta is survived by Lynn and Michael, both of East Syracuse, NY, a brother, John Goetze of Virginia, and a niece, Dianne Miller Kollar, who grew up next door on Mill Pond Road in Port Washington and now resides in South Carolina.
Meta was an active volunteer in two United Methodist churches near her new home. She continued to share her wonderful singing voice in choirs in the area. She always had a well-trained and loved canine companion and had raised several seeing-eye dogs.
She exposed her grandson, Michael, to just about every wholesome activity to be had in the Syracuse area, particularly with a focus on those activities that combined fun and any kind of education.
Meta perfected her passionate quilting in her retirement. She found great comfort and wonderful friends in a Hope for the Bereaved group she attended after her relocation.
Meta volunteered for that organization, the Syracuse zoo and the Make-a-Wish Foundation. She delivered Meals on Wheels and involved herself in many other volunteer activities as well.
Meta never stopped seeking to help others in one way or another, even as her abilities declined and she lived in facilities to assist her.
Meta loved gardening and growing plants but never let any moss grow under her own feet. She continued her exuberance for life until the very end of her life despite her health challenges.
Services were held at the United Methodist Church of Port Washington on Monday, April 4. The burial followed at Nassau Knolls Cemetery in Port Washington.
If desired, monetary contributions can be made in her honor to The United Methodist Church of Port Washington or the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
