Esther Miller

Esther Davidson Miller, 88, Glen Burnie, beloved wife of Roger H. Miller and mother of Robin Mullins (Pasadena), Bruce Miller (Salisbury) and Betsy Miller (Annapolis), passed away after an 8 year battle from the complications of diabetes, on Wednesday, July 6, 2011. She was also preceded in death by three children: Kristine H., Craig J., and Jeffrey C. Miller, as well as 9 siblings (Edna, Lily, Hiram, Irene, James, Ella, Raymond, Janet, and Kenneth Davidson). She was also the adored grandmother of Jacob, Piper and Travis Mullins, Bethany, Adam and Tim Miller, and Chelsea and Heather Lewis. Esther was born in Brooklyn, NY on July 15, 1922 to Norwegian immigrant parents Jens and Johanne Margrethe Davidson. Her father was a master carpenter/shipbuilder and her mother raised 10 children during the depression with five serving in the armed forces during WWII. Before the war, she worked as a top secret blueprint clerk for Sperry Gyroscope. Esther was one of only 20,000 women accepted to serve our country as a United States Marine Corporal during WWII, working in special services in Washington, DC. She had attended an all-female public school in Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, NY. After serving in the Marines, she graduated first in her class from the College of Physical Therapy in Los Angeles, California, where she met and married Roger, who also graduated from the college. They have been married for 65 years.


She was a very active volunteer, beginning with her service for the Sister Kenny Foundation in the 1940's, during the polio epidemic, working as a Sister Kenny packer by preparing and administering hot, wet, wool blankets to children with polio to relieve the muscle spasms, which helped save their lives. She continued her volunteer services with the Salvation Army, helping to feed the homeless with weekly preparation of foods, making and delivering packages of food to the elderly through the Meals on Wheels program, and many other church charitable works. She and Roger were founding members of Glen Lutheran Church in Glen Burnie. She also served for many years as the President of the church womens' group. While raising her children as a military wife, for 23 years, she traveled around the world to California, England, Germany and Texas.

She worked as a manager at Anticipation Maternity Shop in the Harundale Mall, Sears, Fabrics & Fashions and, in later years, as the head teller at Maryland National Bank in downtown Glen Burnie until her retirement. She was a prolific textile artist, creating hundreds of detailed needlework pictures with intricate designs (many of them winning first place in the Anne Arundel County Fair), knitting, tatting and sewing. She loved spending time with her grandchildren, making them laugh, was an avid reader and storyteller, and spent many Sundays working on the New York Times crossword puzzles and playing games with her family. In continuing her life-long love of science even after death, she donated her body to medical research through the State Anatomy Board.