Dorothy E. Burkley Miller waved her last goodbye to family and friends Friday, Oct. 17, 2014. She was born Aug. 8, 1928, in Bairdstown/Blairsville, to Edward Burkley and Edna Roley. Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Glenn Miller; her two brothers, Donald and Kenneth; her sister, Edna Mae; and her two sons, Bradley and Timothy. During World War II, Dorothy worked at the Airplane and Marine Factory in Clearfield and she was a member of the Rosie the Riveter Association. Dorothy was a deeply spiritual woman and her relationship with God was expressed in the way she approached life. No matter what trials came her way, she was responded with the same unwavering faith in her God and surrendered to His will. She was a 40 year breast cancer survivor and volunteered for "Reach for Recovery", an organization that helps those who have experienced breast cancer. Widowed at age 31, Dorothy raised her five children on her own, through the strength of her faith and the help of the people that God always seemed to place in her life to assist or lead her. After the death of her husband, she went to Beauty School and had a successful beauty salon (Dot's Curl Corner) for 43 years. She went back to school at age 42 to add electrolysis to her beauty business. Dorothy was also a valued employee of the Brooks Funeral Home Inc. since 1973. She leaves behind a rich legacy, an example of a life well lived. She searched for ways to share her passion of Our Lord with others. She has been a member of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, Connellsville, since 1948, joined the Charismatic renewal in 1970, was a member of Christ's Light of the Cross prayer group and a Diocesan leader since 1980. She became a Eucharistic Minister, headed a music ministry for the charismatic movement in the Greensburg Diocese called "Dot and the Doves". She was a hospice volunteer and later became a public speaker, sharing her story with others who have experienced traumatic loss in their lives. She is survived by three daughters, Janice Hay, Nancy Leidy and Barbara Jack; two stepchildren, Jeff Sechrist and Karen Sechrist Anderson; two daughters-in-law, Kathy Cornwall and Nancy Miller; 10 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Friends will be received from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the BROOKS FUNERAL HOME INC., 111 E. Green St., Connellsville, where a blessing service will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday followed by a funeral Mass at 10 a.m. in Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church with the Rev. Robert Lubic as celebrant. Interment will follow in St. Joseph's Cemetery. The Christ's Light of the Cross Prayer Group will gather at 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. To offer a condolence or remembrance, please visit http://www.brookshomes.com.

(Pittsburgh Tribune Review 10/21/2014)