Lorraine Regina Miller

Lorraine Regina Miller, 79, of Milwaukie, Oregon, passed away on Thursday, March 9, 2017, from complications related to breast cancer treatment. A Celebration of Life service will be held at noon on Friday, March 17, 2017 at Holman, Hankins, Bowker, & Waud Funeral Home. A committal service at Mountain View Cemetery will follow the Celebration of Life service at approximately 1:30 pm. A gathering of family and friends will be held at the home of Brian & Rose Miller following the Committal Service at Mt. View. It will begin at approximately 2:30 pm at 140 Randall St. in Oregon City. A visitation will be held at the funeral home on the afternoon of Thursday, March 16. Lorraine was born the 5th child of Joseph & Rosie Welters in St. Francis, MN on October 13, 1937. She was named Lorraine Regina Welters but later christened Florence. Growing up, her legal name was then Lorraine Regina Florence Welters. While she was still quite young the family moved to Portland, Oregon where both of her parents went to work in the shipyards. She attended catholic school for most of her education and graduated from Oregon City High School in 1956. Lorraine was married to John Edward "Eddie" Miller on December 18, 1957 they were married 59 years. They began dating seriously after meeting at a movie theater in downtown Oregon City while they were each out with their friends. 1-2 Years later, they married in a private ceremony in Stevenson, WA in the office of the Justice of the Peace. At the time of her marriage to John, she removed the name Florence and became Lorraine Regina Miller. Lorraine showed many of her talents in the wide variety of employment she enjoyed through the years. In her youth, she worked in retail for Meier and Frank in downtown Portland; she was a full time mother of 5; worked on a farm; a chicken hatchery; worked as a very important all-around support for John's Auto Body repair businesses; worked on the Bookmobile, bringing library books to people who were unable to come to the library itself; she worked as an assistant teacher at Cowlitz County Headstart; Restaurant Manager; Waitress/cook; all before settling in to work for Physicians Association of Clackamas County (AKA- PACC Health Plans) which later became Health Net. She worked as a claims auditor for Health Net Insurance for 20 years before retiring in 2005. Her hobbies included, reading; going to garage sales and for many years having large garage sales with family or others who could join her, crocheting "scrubbers" for Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods even after having a stroke that kept her from full use of her right hand. In addition, she made towels, blankets, wash cloths, and various other creations. She found a lot of joy in sharing parts of her life and history by helping others find family members through genealogy and Ancestry.com. Over the years, she was able to help many people locate relatives they didn't know existed, some that they had been searching for, and finding answers to questions they had been asking themselves for years. As a result, she was greatly sought after and had friends/acquaintances around the world. Many may remember Lorraine from her attendance and membership at several Community churches and Baptist churches in the Oregon cities of Gladstone, Jennings Lodge, Oregon City, Milwaukie and in Longview, WA. It was in 1967 that she accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour and as a result she was faithful in bringing her children to church and allowing them to know Jesus as well. Lorraine is survived by her husband, John; her children: Dianna Kelley; Loren (Lisa) Miller; Brian (Rose) Miller; Karla (Dan) Karns; Patti (Eric) Ullrich; 25 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren; sisters Genevive Thometz, Bernice Welters (wife of Jerome Welters), and Viola Brown; and other family and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents: Joseph & Rose Welters; siblings: Dorothy Andersen, Jerome Welters, Dolores Welters, & Sonny Welters; two children; two grandchildren; & one great-grandchild. She was a wonderful wife, mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, confidant, and far more and she will be greatly missed by all of us..... We love her and look forward to seeing her again in heaven .

Lorraine Regina Miller

October 13, 1937 - March 9, 2017