Avis de décès de Mary-Elizabeth Miller - Nécrologie - MesAieux.com

MARY ELIZABETH "BUFF" MILLER Mary Elizabeth "Buff" Miller, 97, of Athens, GA, died Saturday, April 5, 2014. She was born to the late Howard Edison Miller and Mary Gilkinsen Stubbs Miller on January 13, 1917 in Baltimore, MD. She graduated from the University of Maryland in 1938 with a degree in chemical engineering. While in college, she earned her pilot's license, and flew home often to visit her family on the weekends, dipping her wings as she flew over their house to announce her imminent arrival. After graduation, Buff worked as a chemical engineer for the Glenn L. Martin Company before and during World War II. Her specialty there was anti-corrosive chemical finishes for aircraft wings. She also contributed to the development of self-sealing aircraft fuel tanks, a technology that saved the lives of numerous Allied pilots and aircrew by preventing catastrophic fuel leaks in planes hit by enemy fire. Buff was interviewed on the nationally broadcast NBC Radio program "In Defense of America" in July of 1941; at that time, she was the only woman among the 1,400 engineers employed by the Glenn L. Martin Company. On December 5, 1941, she was recognized by the National Association of Manufacturers as one of eight "women in key posts in the defense industries." Following World War II, she worked for the Strategic Air Command in the Azores and Morocco. She worked for NASA in the 1950s when that agency was developing the X-15 rocket plane and also contributed to NASA's Mercury Program. She put her career on hold to raise her daughter Mary. She was a devoted mother, and always found time to take her daughter to the library, beach, zoo, park, or aquarium. She re- entered the workforce as Assistant to the Project Engineer on the Saint Lucie Nuclear Power Plant on Hutchinson Island, near Fort Pierce, FL, a position she held until she retired at the age of 77. Upon retirement, Buff moved to Athens-Clarke County to live with her daughter. Always a football lover, she quickly became an avid Bulldogs fan. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2004 but did not let that deter her from living a rich and loving life. She regularly attended the Athens Community Council on Aging's Adult Day Services, where she enjoyed such activities as group exercise, bingo, jigsaw puzzles, games, and movies. She loved to read, usually in the company of her beloved cats and dogs. She participated in the Wild Rumpus Halloween parade in 2012 as a queen bee and had so much fun that she returned in 2013 as a mermaid. She had a sunny disposition and a bright and ready smile. She was always gracious and appreciative of everything that anyone did for her. Buff was preceded in death by her brother William Stubbs Miller and is survived by her daughter Mary Lynn Miller and her granddaughter Emily Vandenberg of Appleton, WI. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the Athens Community Council on Aging's Athens Adult Day Care program. The funeral service will be at St. Stephen's Anglican Church in Athens on Saturday, April 12 at 2:00 pm. Bridges Funeral Home, Athens, GA is in charge of arrangements. www.BridgesFuneral.com