Lula M. Miller(Tulia)

Lula Marjorie (Lougie) Miller was born to eternal life on Sept. 11, 2008 at the age of 88. Her family rests in the assurance that she is now with family and friends that she loved, as well as with her Lord. Lougie was born in Tulia on August 15, 1920 to L.G. and Linnie E. Conner, the granddaughter of a Tulia pioneer family. Except for a few short years away, she lived all her life in Tulia. No one loved Tulia more than Lougie Miller. Her children remember that one of the first songs they ever learned went like this: "T-U-L-I, T-U-L-I, T-U-L-I-A, I love you. I love you in the morning, And I love you at night, You may not believe it, But I love it with all my might, T-U-L-I, T-U-L-I, T-U-L-I-A, I love you!" When the time came for her to leave her family home at the corner of Maxwell and 6th to live in assisted living in Plainview, her most persistent declaration was, "I will not leave Tulia!" It was her fervent wish that Tulia have its own assisted living facility. However, she adjusted well to life at Santa Fe House and spent four happy and content years with her peers. Lougie graduated from Tulia High School in 1938, and from Baylor University with a B.A. in Education in 1942. She taught school for two years in Floydada where she met and married her first husband, Dale Strickland. When he was killed in service in August, 1944, she returned to teaching in Tulia. In 1948 she married Paul D. Miller and they moved with daughter Dale Ann (Strickland) to the Miller farm northeast of Tulia where they lived for over forty years. Later that year a daughter, Janet was born, and in 1952 a son, Mark. For many years Lougie devoted her time to the First Presbyterian Church, The Swisher County Museum (which she was instrumental in founding) and to many other community organizations. She was a strong and determined individual who believed that all people be treated fairly and injustices be corrected. After the small child of migrant workers died when left in a car at the end of a cotton row while the parents chopped cotton, she was the mover and shaker who helped found the Tulia Day Nursery so that all people could have access to child care. She was awarded the Pioneer Spirit Award in 2000, and previously the Woman of the Year. However, most of her time was spent with the family she loved and nurtured. She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul D. Miller, in January, 2000, and by her parents, L.G. and Linnie E. Conner. Lula Marjorie is survived by three children: Dale Ann Morgan of Waukesha, Wisconsin, and Janet Wright and Mark Miller, both of Tulia. She is further survived by five grandchildren: Rev. Troy C. Morgan, Belfast, Northern Ireland; Kenneth L. Morgan III (Trey) of Portland, Oregon; Jenny Briones (Harvey), Tulia; Michael Morgan (Shana Lindsey) of New York, N.Y., and Adam Wright (Jennifer Smith) of Uvalde, TX. She is further survived by fourteen great-grandchildren: Matthew, Harley, Jonathon, Nicholas, Hillary, Luke, Sandy, Selena, and Crystal Briones; Conner, Brennan, and Stephanie Wright; Dean and Avery Morgan. Other survivors include nieces Tooter (Larry) Gardner of Anderson, Missouri and Shirley (Johnny) Thomas of Atlanta, Georgia; cousins June Boston, A.C. Wimberley, Peggy Wimberley, and Susie Bunch, as well as many long time Tulia friends. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Monday, September 15, 2008 at the First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Terry Hart officiating. Burial will follow in Rose Hill Cemetery under the direction of Kornerstone Funeral Directors of Tulia. Memorials may be made to the Tulia Cemetery Association, Tulia Day Nursery, Swisher Memorial Residential Living Center, First Presbyterian Church or the Santa Fe Depot Restoration Fund.