ESTELLE KINTIGH MILLER 1919-2018
Estelle Kintigh Miller, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania passed away on August 31, 2018, at the age of 99. The daughter of educational missionaries, she was born in Canton, China, on August 9, 1919.
At the age of 17, she began college at the University of Kansas City and graduated from Baker University in 1940 with a BS in elementary education. She did post-graduate work at the University of Missouri and the University of Delaware. She had a decades-long career, primarily as a 5th grade teacher in Newark, Delaware. She communicated her life-long love of early America by writing six teachers’ Guides to Historical Resources in Delaware that enriched students’ appreciation of American Heritage. On annual field trips to Winterthur, her fifth graders amazed and often out-witted the docents by their knowledge of colonial homes and furnishings. Additionally, Estelle conducted colonial home tours and slide shows for residents of the region. In 1971, she was awarded the Valley Forge Freedom Foundation Teacher of the Year Medal for teaching children about their colonial heritage.
Following retirement, Estelle and her husband Hi moved to Nokomis, Florida, where both were active in the communities of Sorrento South Development, Laurel Hollow Condominium Association and Grace United Methodist Church. Estelle was a gracious and generous hostess to family and friends at many gatherings – always with a beautiful presentation of food and table. She and Hi delighted in travels to all 50 United States and abroad, including twenty trips to specific countries and one around-the-world journey. Her love of travel and teaching was the result of summer road trips in the US with her parents and later helping with children's summer camps that her father Stanley Kintigh owned and managed.
In 2004 Estelle and Hi moved to Bethany Village Retirement Center in Mechanicsburg where they made new friends and enjoyed the many programs offered there. A favorite activity was decorating the Christmas tree in the West Campus lobby. They maintained their friendships in Florida and spent time there each winter until Hi’s death in 2012. Estelle had a close and supportive network of friends, many made through her college women’s fraternity Alpha Chi Omega and her professional educator society Delta Kappa Gamma. Estelle was grateful to have had some dedicated caregivers enhancing the quality of her life during this past year.
She is survived by her next-of-kin nephew Keith (Brenda) Kintigh of Santa Fe and niece Linda (William) Miller of Mechanicsburg; nieces and nephews-in-law Monica, Reba, Eva Mae, Mary Jane, Leroy, Robert; brother-in-law Alvin Miller; and caregiver/friend extraordinaire Nettie Stout. She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years H.L. (Hi) Miller, her brother John, and nephew Steven.
A reception will be held at 2PM on Saturday, September 22 in the Springfield Room, Bethany Village West, 5225 Wilson Ln, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Care Assurance Fund, Bethany Village, 325 Wesley Drive, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.

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