Helen Alta (McElhinney) Miller passed away peacefully February 23, 2023. She was born on September 28, 1925 in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada to Phoebe (Zimmerman) and Ralph McElhinney. Helen moved with her family a few years later to Iowa, growing up in Ames and eventually attending Iowa State University. It was there that she went on a blind date with Robert Miller.

Upon graduation, they became engaged, but first Helen got a job with United Airlines as what was then called a stewardess. She loved this job for 3 years, but had to quit when she and Robert got married in 1948, as stewardesses were not allowed to be married at that time. Helen and Robert lived for a few years in Silver Spring, MD, where he worked at the Johns Hopkins Naval Post-Graduate Institute. They then moved to Palo Alto, CA when Robert took a job at Stanford University as an electrical engineer in the Applied Electronics Laboratory.

Helen became a homemaker, raising 3 children and volunteering with the PTA, Girl Scouts, her church, and the PEO Sisterhood. She was a lifelong swimmer, and loved to swim her laps at the Eichler Swim & Tennis Club, and sit in the sun afterwards with friends, a good book or her beloved New Yorker magazine. She loved tennis and golfing, and was quite the seamstress, teaching herself to upholster furniture and re-doing several couches and armchairs over the years.

Helen’s life changed in 1968 with the death of her beloved husband Robert. On her own, she explored new interests, volunteering for the West Bay Opera Guild as an usher, auditing literature classes at Stanford and taking writing classes at Foothill College. It was there that she discovered her love of writing fiction, which became a lifelong pursuit. Over the years, she wrote several novels and many short stories. In 1972, she took a year to live and travel in Europe, studying French at the Sorbonne in Paris and learning to ski in the Austrian Alps near Innsbruck. She visited many countries and had many adventures before moving back to CA. Continuing her travel adventures, she then visited friends in Thailand, stopping in Japan on the way. In 1975, Helen went back to school, earning a MA degree in Applied Behavioral Sciences from UC Davis. But writing remained her passion, and she moved to Santa Cruz CA, buying and renovating an old farmhouse on the coast. She spent many happy years in Santa Cruz, working various jobs but always devoting her mornings to writing.

 In 2000, Helen moved to the Hood River Valley, where she discovered her childhood friend from Iowa, Mary Schlick, was also living. She quickly made a circle of new friends too, joining the Sports Club and a book group, playing golf and meeting friends every Wednesday at Bette’s for sticky buns. She continued to swim regularly right up into her 90’s.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Robert. She is survived by her children: Tom (Jan), Baird and Anne (Bernard); her grandchildren Heather (Henry), Caitlin, Dylan (Alexandra) and Kieran; and her great grandchildren Zachary, Noah, Stella and Miriam. A memorial gathering will be held at a later date this spring.

Arrangements are under the direction of Anderson's Tribute Center • 1401 Belmont Avenue, Hood River, Oregon 97031.  Visit www.AndersonsTributeCenter.com to leave a note of condolence for the family.