Of Horseheads passed away at home on February 23, 2010. She was 87. Betty was born on December 10, 1922 in White Sulphur Springs, NY., daughter of Fred M. and Nellie (Wagner) Dowitsch. She attended a one-room schoolhouse in North Branch, NY. She graduated from Delaware Valley Central School in 1940 and the Southern Tier Beauty Academy in Binghamton, NY in 1942. After graduation she operated her own beauty salon, Betty’s Beauty Box in North Branch. She married Warren K. Miller on September 1, 1943. Betty spent the early part of her married life as a homemaker raising three children. Later on she worked as the tax collector for the Delaware Valley School district and as a secretary for the Burkle Insurance Agency in Callicoon, NY. As an Air Force wife she lived in Alamogordo, NM; Clovis, NM; and Waco, TX; but finally settled in Hortonville, NY near her childhood home. In addition to teaching her children how to swim, she was an embroiderer and a bowler. She bowled in the Hortonville Ladies League from 1976-1984. She was an accomplished piano and organ player. In later years, Betty enjoyed watching hummingbirds at her home and spending time on her computer keeping in contact with family and friends. She was a member of the First Lutheran Church in Jeffersonville, NY, a communicant of Our Saviour’sLutheran Church in Horseheads, NY and a member of the Hudson Valley Chapter Ex-POW organization at West Point, NY. She is survived by her husband, Warren, of 66 years, her three children, Creighton (Cecelia) Miller of Burdett, NY; Glenn (Marcelle) Miller of Walton, NY; and Judy Miller-Lyons of Highland Mills, NY and (Marc Lyons) of Monticello, NY. Also, three grandchildren, Heather (Dan) Kennedy of Searsmont, ME; Brian (Stephanie) Miller of Bath, NY; and Hilary Miller of Melbourne, Australia; two great grandchildren; Caleb and Ella; a brother, Robert (Jean) Dowitsch of Gilboa, NY; and a nephew, Donald Dowitsch of Canandaigua, NY. At her request, all services will be held privately. Interment will be held in Hortonville Cemetery at the convenience of the family. Memorial contributions may be made to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 2872 Westinghouse, Road, Horseheads, NY 14845-8197, or Southern Tier Hospice and Palliative Care, 11751 East Corning Road, Corning, NY 14830.
