Obituary: Amy Miller, 1981-2024

Amy
Kathleen Miller, born on May 22, 1981, was the third child of Albert
Miller and Colleen Miller Hale. She is survived by her mother,
Colleen, and stepfather, David Hale; her brother, Jeffrey, his wife,
Jennifer, and their daughter, Charlotte Miller; and her brother,
Peter, and his daughter, Maddalena Miller.

Growing
up as the youngest of three, Amy honed a unique, razor-sharp wit and
a lightning-fast sense of humor. In a family of fast talkers, she
learned that she needed to have something to say, had to get it out
quickly, and, most importantly, it had to be funny.

These
skills led her to the theater while she was at Burlington High
School, where she thrived in the limelight and never shied away from
center stage. She went on to attend Marymount Manhattan and completed
her studies in writing for film and television at the University of
the Arts in Philadelphia. Later, she lived in Philadelphia, where she
managed various restaurants, and in Chicago, where she practiced
stand-up comedy. Those who knew her will remember laughing in her
presence, laughing at the world around us and our human lives within
it.

It
could have been her love for the rush that other people’s laughter
brought her that led Amy down what sadly proved to be an
irretrievable path of addiction. She met her husband, Dale Austin, in
recovery, and cared for him as he passed away from cancer. Dale and
Amy’s lives will be celebrated in Burlington, Vt., in August 2024.

If
you knew her, you remember laughing. You remember her laughter,
punctuated by that smile, relishing what she could make happen in
other people just by using words. You also remember your own
laughter, sounds of utter joy coming from deep inside you, far beyond
your control, but not beyond hers.

This article appears in Aug 7-13, 2024.