Donna Jean Miller

Donna Jean (Jensen) Miller passed away peacefully on April 9, 2025, at the age of 93. She was born to parents Edward and Ruby (Peterson) Jensen at the family farm north of Fiscus in Audubon County, Iowa. She had many cherished memories of her childhood there, attending Merrill's Grove Baptist Church and helping her father milk cows, pick corn and drive horses for the hay fork. She attended Lincoln #9 and Fairview #5, one-room schoolhouses, through the 7th grade. For 8th grade and high school, she attended school in Harlan because the family had moved to a farm near Corley. During her freshman year of high school, she lost her mother due to cancer and had to take on additional tasks around the farm and help care for her 2-year-old sister, Janice.

During high school Donna dated Leland Miller, and after graduating in 1950, they married at Bethel Baptist Church in Harlan. The couple had three children and moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1957. She was outgoing, loved to make people laugh, and enjoyed using her gift for hospitality to entertain church friends and Iowa visitors. She was also known for her creativity, which produced many delicious baked goods and incredible craft projects.

Donna was known to be a hard worker and had several part-time jobs in the early years of her marriage, eventually spending much of her career as a full-time supervisor at Motorola. Later, she also worked in manufacturing positions at Reynolds Aluminum, Sola Ophthalmics and Acoustic Imaging.

Throughout her life Donna enjoyed activities with friends, spending time at her cabin in Herber and traveling. Whether it was camping, visiting national parks, or taking a cruise, she loved adventure and visited numerous places across the US and around the world.

In 1995 she returned to Harlan to help her aging father and was active at the First Baptist Church, worked part-time at Country Treasures, joined the Community Chorus and served as "Queen Mum" for the Harlan Red Hat Society. After her father's passing, she remained in Iowa for several more years, spending her winters in Arizona. In 2015, she decided to move back to Arizona permanently and enjoyed her home in Sun City for the remainder of her life.

Donna will be buried in the Harlan Cemetery on June 28, 2025, with graveside services at 11:00 am. She was preceded in death by her parents Edward and Ruby Jensen, stepmother Myrtle (Larson) Jensen, daughter-in-law Wendy Miller, and many other extended family members. She is survived by her sister Janice (John) Love of Gainesville, VA, children Brenda, Kurt (Kim) and Todd Miller all of Phoenix, AZ, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a dementia-related charity, or charity of your choice.