Joan Karustis Miller
Joan Karustis Miller died Tuesday, Nov. 17 at Abington-Lansdale Hospital. She was 79.
She was born on Aug. 26, 1941 in Bridgeport, Conn. to Adele and George Karustis. She was preceded in death by her parents and husband, L. Marshall Miller.
As a child, her family moved to Shenandoah where her father worked in the coal mines. She recalled life there fondly, though it was not always easy. One story she told involved the trials of using an outhouse at night and in wintertime. Resilience from those early years lasted through her final days.
The family moved to Bethlehem, where she graduated from Liberty High School. She went on to graduate from Moravian College. Her studies in biology led her to a job at Merck. As a biochemist, her work led to patents utilizing gas chromatography.
She met Marshall on a blind date. They married on Aug. 31, 1963 and were inseparable for their nearly 51-year marriage. They settled in North Wales and added sons Eric and Douglas. She devoted herself to her family, volunteering and travel.
She was steadfast in her core beliefs. Among them: Anything that was worth doing was worth doing right and to “waste not, want not.” Friends valued her guidance, though it could be blunt at times. She never wavered from accountability, honesty and integrity.
She was an avid reader and a lifelong learner. She was director of a Montessori School at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, where she and family were members. In later years, she enjoyed participating in the Red Hat Society, a women’s social group.
She also volunteered as an aide in the North Wales Elementary School. She later was a math aide at Unami Middle School. She taught English to Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s at her dining room table.
She and Marshall served as volunteer tax preparers for senior citizens. They participated in a community program to conduct water quality tests in streams along the Wissahickon watershed.
Her gardening began with a tomato plant. She went on to become a Penn State Extension Master Gardener.
She devoted herself to organic gardening rather than chemical fertilizers, which are quick but shortlived. Instead, she spent years transforming clay into dark soil with ground-up leaves and compost.
Her yard was a tapestry of native plants that changed in harmony with the seasons. By giving back to nature, she created an environment that was richer and more sustainable than she found it.
Survivors include brother George Karustis and wife Marlene of Charleton, Mass. and their son Charles Karustis and family of Sudbury, Mass.; her son Eric and wife Leigh Ann and their sons Kevin and Ryan of Granville, Ohio; and her son Doug and wife Debra and their daughter Evan of Charlotte, N.C.
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