Margaret Laura Miller, 97, of Lynn Haven, Florida, passed away Friday, April 12, 2013 at her home.

Margaret was born in Coldwater, Kansas to Kit and Emma Dykes. For years, she taught several grades of school in a two-room schoolhouse in Copeland, Kansas. She moved to the Bay County area with her late husband Alfred Miller in 1973.

Margaret was adored by her family which celebrates her long and successful life. Her granddaugher and namesake Margaret Jewell Blackwell has written this poem to memoralize her:

Eyes and a smile that melt my troubles away

You are my dearest treasure

My hearts fire

My love for you stretches across the universe

You are my total joy

You alleviate all fear

All of my ailments you heal

Thank you for being my best friend teaching me why we love and what I can be

You are the funniest person I have ever met, endless elegance, incredible essence

The nights are going to brighter because you are lighting up the sky

I will always have you by my side

Margaret is preceded in death by her husband Alfred W. Miller; three sisters, Marjorie Yanson, Betty Youngblood and Fern McVey; and a brother, Warren Dykes. She is survived by her daughter, M. Carol Blackwell (Whilden); sons Joe A. Miller (Lana) of Plains, KS and Chris O. Miller (Marlena) of Colorado Springs, CO; a sister, Louise Cox, and her grandchildren, Lea Blackwell, Tina Blackwell, Margaret Jewell Blackwell, Jason Miller and Jennifer Miller.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, April 18, 2013, at the United Methodist Church, Plains, Kansas, with the Reverend Keith Schadel presiding. Interment will follow in the Copeland Cemetery, Copeland, Kansas. Fidler-Orme-Bachman Mortuary, Meade, Kansas, is in charge of local arrangements.