Elizabeth "Betty" Gallup Miller

Elizabeth (Betty) Gallup Miller, 100, of Fitzwilliam, died December 2, 2015 at her home after a long and eventful life.

She was born in Medford, Massachusetts, June 13, 1915, daughter of Oren and Grace (Gardner) Gallup. She grew up in Nutley, New Jersey, and attended schools there. She then attended Wheaton College and later the New York School of Interior Decoration.
Upon completing her education, she worked for several New York City wholesale and retail businesses.

After marrying and starting a family, she moved from New Jersey to the Gallup summer house at Laurel Lake where she had spent much of her childhood. She remained in Fitzwilliam from 1947 to 1960 and worked for many years at Miniature Precision Bearings in Keene. When she married John (Bing) Miller, she moved to his home in Derry and worked at Darlene Sportswear in Manchester. She returned with him to Fitzwilliam in 1981.

Betty had been a past member of the Fitzwilliam Library Sewing Circle, the Fitzwilliam Historical Society, and the Women’s Christian Guild of the Fitzwilliam Community Church. In recent years she was an active member of the Fitzwilliam Garden Club and was on the editorial staff of the Fitzwilliam Newsletter, contributing many jokes and recipes. She particularly liked finding humorous anecdotes that provided a good laugh.

She was an avid reader, her favorite novels being mysteries and thrillers. She also loved art museums, painting local landscapes in watercolor, gardening, crossword puzzles, a swim in Laurel Lake, and the beach at Plum Island.

Survivors include a son, Kurt Schmidt, and his wife, Shelley Earley, of Fitzwilliam; a daughter, Karla Boyack, and her husband, Kent, of Mesa, Colorado; one stepson, Don Miller and his partner Mary Garvey, of East Derry; three stepdaughters: Dee Raitto and her husband Russ of Fitzwilliam, Lee Fenton and her husband Jim of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and Bess Parks of Merrimack; two grandsons, six granddaughters, and eight great-grandchildren; many step-grandchildren and their children; a niece and two nephews. Her husband John (Bing) Miller, sister Louise Kirkman, and daughter Donna Harrica died earlier.

Betty’s father, Oren Oliver Gallup, who died in 1969, was a descendent of Captain John Gallop, an immigrant from England and for whom a Boston Harbor island is named. From the book Pilots and Pilot Boats of Boston Harbor: “On this island Captain Gallop had a snug farm, also a meadow on Long Island, a sheep pasture on Nix’s Mate and a house in Boston. He was said to have been better acquainted with the harbor than any man of his time… He gained fame when, in 1636, after a desperate encounter off Block Island he recovered a vessel which had been taken by the Narragansett Indians from his friend John Oldham whom they had killed. This is supposed to be the first engagement that ever occurred between the inhabitants of the American colonies and enemies afloat.”

A memorial service will be held at a later date. Cournoyer Funeral Home & Cremation Center of Jaffrey is in charge of the arrangements (www.cournoyerfh.com). At Mrs. Miller’s request, there will be no calling hours.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to the Fitzwilliam Garden Club Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 427, Fitzwilliam, NH 03447, or to Hospice at HCS, P.O. Box 564, 312 Marlborough St., Keene, NH 03431.