BEVERLY MILLER | September 23, 1943 – May 19, 2026

Beverly Miller died on May 19, 2026. Her body was 82 years old at the time of death, but until the last weeks of her life, her mind was equal parts younger and older than her body. Until her final days, Beverly remained as mentally sharp and curious as she had always been and continued to display the perceptiveness, discernment and wisdom beyond her years for which she was known.

Beverly was born in Wenatchee, Washington, and spent her earliest years in a mining camp in Holden, Washington. Her father worked as a miner. Her mother was a homemaker. Beverly loved Holden and when her family moved to East Wenatchee, Washington, she felt deeply the loss of no longer living there. She described knowing that in leaving Holden, she was being forced to leave something beautiful, serene and special behind.

Beverly graduated from Eastmont High School. To no ones’ surprise, she was the valedictorian of her high school class. She graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in social work and lived for many years in South Seattle and West Seattle and in 1999, she settled with her brother and his family on Vashon Island where she lived until her death. At her home on Vashon she once again found the beauty and sereneness of place that she knew from her childhood in Holden.

To know Beverly was to know that she was, simply stated, cool. As a teenager, she knew the “it” music and artists and eagerly participated in the cultural curiosity that marked the 1960s. While attending the University of Washington, she nannied for a family whose mother was a jazz and theatre critic for the Seattle P-I and that experience was precious to Beverly both because of her love of the children she cared for and because the household culture was infused with the things she loved – music and art.

If you wanted to know about the best emerging music and artist, the best movies and of course, the best books, you looked to Beverly. Beverly loved books. She devoured them and was surrounded by them. Her house was filled with books. The only thing she had more of than books when she passed was CDs of music, mostly opera. She was devout in her love of opera, especially Richard Wagner’s legendary Ring cycle. She travelled with friends all over the world to see performances of the Ring cycle and some of her closest friendships came out of mutual devotion to the Ring.

Beverly was a pioneer in her professional life. She was revered in the behavioral healthcare profession and was a passionate and leading advocate in the world of peer support and counseling. She was at the forefront of peer support as an essential pathway to substance abuse recovery. She was the founding director of United Peers of Washington, a peer run nonprofit that creates educational and wellness events and advocates for behavior health issues. Beverly was deeply devoted to the cause of peer counseling and to the colleagues that worked alongside her.

Although she loved the arts and her profession, Beverly’s greatest joy in life was being the sister of Foss Miller and the aunt to his children, her nephew, Forrest Miller and her niece, Virginia Miller. Beverly was told by her parents at a young age to take care of her brother and that she did with loyalty and passion. Foss shone brightly in this world as an athlete and businessman and this was in part due to the constant support and encouragement of his biggest supporter, Beverly. Foss’s greatest gift to Beverly was Forrest and Virginia, whom Beverly loved as her own children. Forrest and Virginia loved her back in equal measure.

Beverly was preceded in death by her parents, Dick and Virginia Miller, her brother Foss, her cousin Fred Miller and her beloved dachshund Ella (named for Ella Fitzgerald). She is survived by her nephew, Forrest Miller, her niece Virginia Miller, her sister-in-law Linda Sferra, her cousins Linda Pershall and Monte Hicks and the children of those cousins, Sallye Quinn, Natalie Bendtsen, Amy Oliver, Cassie Condon and Josh Hicks, all of whom thought Beverly was so very, very cool.