Vivienne E. Miller

April 30, 1922 - June 23, 2019

became her family. She was a dedicated supporter of the Merola Opera Program, the Adler Fellowship of the SF Opera, as well as the San Francisco Symphony. There wasn’t an opera she didn’t know. These musical organizations became her social life as did the Mill Valley Library where she was a star of the book sales.

A life well-lived is one where one’s presence has served many people and that epitomizes Vivienne’s life. She left her mark on whomever she met. She loved her cat Callie, rare meat, Duncan, Tina, Jean, Natalie, her neighbors and her cousins Debby, Ralph, Josh and Matthew Wafer; Sandy Biber, Rusty, Rebecca, Jeremy and Ben Callaway and her younger cousins, Sofi and Zanna.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Marin Villages are welcome. This amazing organization kept Vivienne independent and happy to be alive. (Marin Villages, 4340 Redwood Highway, Suite F-142, San Rafael, CA 94903)

Vivienne E. Miller, 97, died peacefully at her Mill Valley home on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

Vivienne was born on April 30th, 1922, in Buffalo, New York. Her mother, Claire Silverman, was a pioneer in sales years long before this was a common occupation for women. Vivienne spent time as a child with her grandparents in the company of her aunts, Charlotte and Evelyn Cohen. As a child, she loved visiting her Grandpa Max at his farm in upstate New York. After one of her visits, Max reported to Claire, “Your daughter just ate 34 tomatoes!” Her love for tomatoes never ended ...neither did her love for the opera. She was taken to her first performance at the age of 4 years, and the rest is history.

Vivienne was an adventuresome, widely travelled woman and had a fierce sense of independence starting at an early age. She attended the University of Buffalo, and following World War II, she moved to Germany where she lived for about 6 years. There, she observed the Nuremberg Trials. She spoke some French and Yiddish, but her German was perfect.

Vivienne was a counselor and a home economics teacher at Galileo High School in San Francisco for more than 40 years and was a resident in a very special neighborhood of Mill Valley where her neighbors