Jan Christiansen Miller passed away on May 15, 2024.
She was born in Ontario, Oregon on August 1, 1942 to Clare Allan and Odessa Verna Robison Christiansen. She grew up in Weiser, Idaho. She lived close to family and adored her Grandmother Robison and Aunt Bamma. She loved going to their house after school to visit and snitch rising bread dough from behind the stove. Jan had a horse named Tony that she’d ride almost every day, and she especially liked riding him bareback, much to the chagrin of her parents.
Jan loved books. She would frequently go to the city library in elementary school and pick out books, sit at the table and read and write and make journal entries about them. This love continued throughout her life, as her house became an extensive library for herself, friends, and family.
She started piano and singing in the third grade from her beloved teacher Esther Benning. She would get out early from school for singing lessons and loved entertaining at different events around town. She was often the lead part in school musicals and even sang in a group with Bing Crosby once in high school.
She was involved in student government in high school and in college. She first attended the Church College of Hawaii (now BYU-Hawaii) for a year and then transferred to Brigham Young University in Provo where she graduated in business retail with a minor in English. After she graduated, she moved to Los Angeles, California where she got a job as an assistant buyer at
J.W. Robinson’s. After five years in L.A., she decided to return to BYU to get a teaching certificate in home economics. Her first teaching job was in Oregon.
Her degree also gave her time to travel the world, which she did for several months one year. She visited Egypt, Morocco, England, Italy, Scotland, Amsterdam, France, Luxembourg and Greece. When she returned, she got a teaching job in Salt Lake City, Utah, but after one year left and was offered a job in Blanding, Utah. This is where she became active again in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became a serious student of the scriptures and especially the Book of Mormon. She met her husband Leonard Miller while living there and they were married in the Manti Temple on February 24, 1979. She moved to Price, Utah and they were blessed with two children, Ashlee and Travis, whom she loved teaching art, science, literature, gardening, music and especially the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
She served in various callings in her church, but her favorite was as the adult Sunday School teacher. She would wake up early to study all she could in preparation for her lessons. She cried when she was released from the calling.
When her children were older, she went back to teaching and found a passion in helping struggling students graduate. She loved working with young people and they loved working with her.
Her family is so grateful for all the church and friend angels who cared for her when she was still living in Price; the McDonald’s and Taco Time runs, prescription and mail deliveries, Sunday
meals, visits, and doctor appointment rides. They are also grateful for the hospice nurses and staff at Aspen Ridge and the nurses and staff at Hearthstone Manor who kindly cared for her the last months of her life.
Jan is survived by her children, Ashlee (Jason) Ard and Travis Miller; and grandchildren, Lily, Grace, Clara, and Molly Ard.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Leonard Miller.
Funeral service, Friday, May 24, 2024, 11:00 a.m., Price Seventh Ward Chapel (995 E 700 N Price, UT) where the family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. Interment, Cliffview Cemetery, Price, Utah. Arrangements entrusted to Mitchell Funeral Home of Price and Huntington where friends are always welcome daily and may share memories of Jan online at www.mitchellfuneralhome.net.