Catherine "Cathy" Gertrude Miller

With great sadness we announce that Catherine “Cathy” Gertrude (Gibson) Miller of Regina passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, October 20, 2023 at the age of 76 with her family by her side after a brief battle with cancer.

Predeceased by her parents, Archie and Mary Gibson; older sisters Elaine Dumba and Lois Czemeres; brother-in-law Andrew Dumba; sister-in-law Susan Gibson; father-in-law Andrew “Dusty” Miller and mother-in-law Membery “Mickey” Miller. 

Cathy is lovingly remembered by her husband William “Bill” Miller; son Robert “Rob” (Meagan) Miller of Toronto; brother Dennis Gibson of Ottawa; brother-in-law Alvin Czemeres of Regina; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and close, special friends.

 A Celebration of Life will be held on June 1, 2024 at 2pm at Seven Oaks Hotel, 777 Albert St, Regina, SK, S4R 2P6 in the Banyon Centre. All are welcome to come celebrate the life of Cathy Miller.

 Cathy was born at the hospital in Balcarres, Saskatchewan and raised on a farm just outside of Dysart, Saskatchewan. She had a love for Dysart and the surrounding communities her whole life, living there again for a time during the 1990s to be close to and help her parents in their later years. 

In her youth, Cathy enjoyed helping her father Archie out on the farm. She particularly liked driving the tractor though she vividly remembered one night when she stayed out too late and got lost. She was relieved when she saw a lantern shining in the dark, making its way towards her - it was Archie coming to help her find her way home. 

Because Archie and Mary had to leave school at a young age to work on their parents’ farms, it was very important to them that their children have the opportunity to further their education. Cathy followed in the footsteps of her sisters Elaine and Lois by becoming a teacher. She attended the Regina Teachers College and received her teaching certificate in 1967.

Cathy began her career in rural Saskatchewan teaching first in her hometown of Dysart in 1967 but then in other small towns, including Holdfast. She taught for a time with Regina Catholic Schools, including St. Matthew, however, spent the majority of her career with Regina Public Schools. She started as an itinerant teacher, working at many schools across the city including Ken Jenkins and Ethel Milliken. Around 1973, she joined W.C. How full-time, where she taught until the early 1980s when she moved to Ruth M. Buck and taught Grade 1 until she retired.

Beloved by her students, their parents, her colleagues and fellow staff, Cathy was described as truly selfless and eager to help with anything at her schools. Cathy had a natural sense of wonder that she brought to her classrooms. She once said that no matter how many years she taught Grade 1, it always felt like magic when the kids started to read. They would work on it and work on it, she would wonder if they would get it, then suddenly they would be reading. She said it felt like magic every single year. 

Cathy was renowned for remembering every student she ever taught. Years would go by and students, now adults, would approach her in stores, at doctors’ offices or even stopping by her house. They would invariably begin the same way: “Mrs. Miller, I’m not sure if you remember me….” It may have been many years since she last saw them, but she would always remember them, their families and their classes. She used to say that she remembered the students who needed to be remembered - for whom it would mean the most - but really, she remembered them all.

Former colleagues have reached out to her family with memories of the laughter and fun that Cathy brought to every school function, lunch with friends, party or get together.

The biggest joy of her life was her family. She met the love of her life Bill at “The Old Gold” in 1972. They saw each other a week later at “The Paddock” and romance bloomed from there. Soon after they took Cathy’s parents for supper at “The Old Gold” and in 1973 they were married. This past summer Cathy and Bill celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. 

Cathy gave birth to their son Rob in 1981. Her colleagues at school told her she should always be pregnant because she absolutely glowed. Being a mother was a true highlight of Cathy’s life and she was wonderful at it. She took immense pride in her son’s accomplishments and was happy to share stories with friends, family and anyone she talked to. Cathy and Rob were always very close. When the family was living in Dysart, during the 90s, Cathy continued to teach in Regina and Rob continued to attend school in Regina. The two commuted back and forth together every day for years, listening to 50’s and 60’s tunes from Cathy’s many cassette tapes.

Throughout the years, Cathy welcomed all of Rob’s friends into their home with every opportunity, helping prepare for Oscar parties, barbecues, game nights and birthdays for which she would cook vast amounts of her famous chili, with different versions to cater to everyone’s dietary requirements. Everyone was always welcome and everyone always loved talking to Cathy and Bill while they were there. 

Rob’s marriage to his wife Meagan was a great source of joy for Cathy and she welcomed Meagan into the family in a way only Cathy could, treating her like a daughter. In recent years, Cathy’s favourite clothes were made for her by Meagan. 

Cathy loved her nieces, nephews and younger cousins and was adored by all of them in return. Before she had Rob, she remembered spending many years at the “kids table” even after she was an adult because she was so good with children.

The love, positivity and kindness Cathy showed to her family, she also openly shared with everyone around her. 

Christmas was Cathy’s favourite time of year. The first movie she ever saw in a theatre was White Christmas. When the credits rolled, she was moved to tears because she didn’t want it to end. Her love of Christmas movies and Christmas continued her whole life. She would record as many Christmas movies as possible and keep watching them for the rest of the year. She and Bill loved creating their miniature Christmas village displays throughout their home. Visitors who came by during the season were enchanted by the villages and Rob enjoyed sneaking Halloween characters into the villages to surprise his mom and make her laugh. For Cathy, Christmas was a time for family, friends and love. 

In her spare time, Cathy was a voracious reader and a lover of her public library. She used little notebooks to track the thousands of books she read and to remember those she still wanted to read. She loved her little notebooks and the many different lists she created. 

Cathy was a Saskatchewan Roughriders fan and supported them with family and friends at rotating living rooms around Regina. She was also an avid curling fan, watching every Brier and Tournament of Hearts. Rob often joked with her that if there was a TSN curling channel, she would be watching it all the time. 

Through Bill’s work and connections with the Lions of Saskatchewan, Cathy and Bill traveled to communities around the province and to conferences in the U.S., making fast friends wherever they went.

Cathy was a joyful person and loved being with family, friends and colleagues. In all of the towns she lived in or visited, at all of the schools where she taught, and any party she went to or hosted, she brought laughter, jokes and warmth.  

Even while in the hospital these last few weeks, her positivity and joy for life caused a nurse to comment to her family that she “radiates love.” Her family would like to thank the nurses, doctors and staff of ward 3F at the Regina General Hospital who Cathy said treated her like royalty. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Cathy’s name to the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan.