Anna Marie Miller passed away on Friday, October 25, 2024 surrounded by family.  She was born on July 10, 1933, in Arthur, as the oldest child and only daughter of Levi J Kauffman and Verna J (Beachy) Kauffman.

Services in celebration of Marie's life will be held on Thursday, October 31, 2024, at the Arthur United Methodist Church, with visitation from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., followed by funeral services. Burial will follow in the Arthur Cemetery. Shrader Funeral Home, Arthur, is assisting the family with arrangements.

Marie attended Reeder Country School, a short distance from her home. Always the trend setter, Marie became the first Amish child to own a bicycle in the Arthur area. Later, at the age of twenty, Marie accepted a position with the Dixon Mental Hospital, where she assisted in the care of the patients.  After returning to Arthur, Marie began the most rewarding job of her life by caring for her two sons, who were born 11 months apart.

Her love of fashion and beautiful clothing blossomed into a successful career in 1967 when she was hand-selected by Delbert and Pat Taylor to manage the area's first upscale women's clothing store, The Villa. Pat and Marie propelled The Villa forward in an emerging world of women's fashion. They traveled together as far as Australia, procuring beautiful work attire during the rise of the professional '80s woman. Marie's most cherished days were spent matching colors and patterns with her best friend, Pat.

Simultaneously, Marie worked at the Villa as well as Kraft Foods, ultimately retiring in 1994.  While at Kraft, Marie initially was the only female on the production line and earned the respect of her male colleagues, building lifelong friendships.  A pioneer of equality, Marie excelled during a time of change for women in the workplace.

Soon after, Marie discovered retirement was not her style. Eagerly, she returned to her passion for customer service and joined Yoder's Kitchen in Arthur, where she worked in the gift shop among friends, both new and old.

Marie is survived by her two sons, Phil and his wife Mary of Chico, CA, and Ron and his wife Jeanne of Brenham, TX. She is also survived by two granddaughters, Natalie of Seattle, WA, and Hailey of Justin, TX, as well as two great-grandchildren. Additionally, Marie is survived by five nieces who affectionately called her "Aunt Re": Diane Kauffman and Joann (Loren) Stutzman of Middlebury, IN; Angela (Dan) McKenzie of Streator, IL; Stacie (Jeff) Teak of Tuscola, IL; and Leslie (Dan) Campbell of Arthur, IL.

In addition to her parents, Marie is preceded in death by her younger brothers, Lester L and Kenneth L Kauffman, as well as her sister-in-law, Esther (Yoder) Kauffman.

Memorials in honor of Marie are suggested to The Alzheimer's Association at  act.alz.org.

As Marie would often say, "I hate to leave good company, but I need to go home."