Tanya Miller

Tanya Maurine (Epling) Miller, 82, of Great Falls, died of natural causes on Friday, November 30, 2012 at a local hospital.A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, December 3, 2012 at Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Chapel.Private inurnment will take place at Fort Harrison Cemetery at a later date.Schnider Funeral Home is handling arrangements.Tanya Maurine (Epling) Miller was born on April 15, 1930 in Arkansas City, Kansas to Leonard Frederick and Helen Midred (Cassity) Epling.She was raised in the Coos Bay, Oregon area where she graduated from Marshfield High School.Tanya married Rolland R. Miller on February 21, 1967 until he passed away in August, 1998.She worked for Boeing in Seattle, WA, as a waitress in Washington and Montana, a butcher in Montana and as a cook for a nursing home at a Senior Center in Montana.She was a member of the VFW Auxiliary Post 1507, serving in three offices, coordinating between Fort Harrison and the V.A. Clinic in Missoula for supplying coffee and cookies, representing fifteen military organizations in this endeavor.Tanya also volunteered working for the V.A. Hospital whenever possible, saying she enjoyed Being there for others in good and bad times.She was also a member of the Ladies Aid for the Baptist Church serving as president and secretary, served on the board for the Deaconess Hospital, and belonged to the Stevensville Senior Citizens Center doing volunteer work there.Tanya also attended the Galilee Baptist Church in Stevensville and after moving to Great Falls, she belonged to First Southern Baptist Church of Great Falls, where she led the church missions education and enjoyed being part of the Joy Group there.Tanya enjoyed church activities, crafts, volunteering, bingo, board games, jigsaw puzzles, Pinochle, camping and fishing.Her favorite time and place was a cruise to the Caribbean, traveling to Nassau and any place on the Oregon Coast. Later, after meeting George Bell, they enjoyed traveling together to visit the southern United States. Tanya is survived by her children, Patricia Anderson of Spokane, WA, Micheline Campbell of Belt, Byron J. Phillips of Wenatchee, WA, Rolland P. Miller, of Federal Way, WA, twins Natrona Lewis of Great Falls, and Mayona Lumley of Great Falls; sister Jacqueline C. Epling of Stevensville; brother Raoul F. Epling of San Francisco, CA; 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; and companion George Bell.She was preceded in death by her parents Leonard Frederick and Helen Mildred Epling; and her husband, Rolland R. Miller.Memorials may be made to the donors choice.