Marilyn Irene (Giusti) Miller, 78, of Lockport, IL and previously Mokena, IL, was called to heaven by the Aurora Borealis on Mother’s Day, May 12, 2024. Her grand exit from this world was only eclipsed by her grand entrance into it.

Marilyn was born in Chicago, IL in January 1946 to “John” Giovanni Enrico & Helen (Heidenblut) Giusti. She grew up in Worth and was an accomplished musician playing the accordion and the piano from a very young age. At around 11 years old, she was frequently invited to play her accordion for shows at the Sabre Room and Palmer House. As a teenager, she taught accordion classes at Rossi Music while she attended Eisenhower High school. Following graduation, she secured a position at Allis-Chalmers and, later, Midwest Operating Engineers. She met and married Jon R. Miller in 1975 and subsequently had three children (Victoria, Jon Jr., and Mary) all while working full-time, helping her husband run his real estate business,  and going to night school for accounting at the University of St. Francis where she graduated with honors one month before giving birth to her youngest daughter. 

After graduation, Marilyn secured a job working in travel finance at Servicemaster/Aramark. Instead of retiring when her Aramark division was outsourced, she turned her hard work and talent toward the legal profession, working as an invaluable member of the law firm McCready, Garcia and Leet until the shadow of multiple myeloma fell over her. She spent her last days at home surrounded by family and friends.

Marilyn was an accomplished woman with a love of music and dancing.  She enjoyed playing piano, playing accordian, country line dancing, and singing in the church choir at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran church.  She loved nature and often worked in her garden, having one of the most beautiful yards in Arbury Hills. She also enjoyed bird watching from her deck, but some of her most treasured memories were the times she spent traveling. Her solo adventure to Hawaii  in her 20’s was one of her fondest memories along with the trips she took with her family to Ireland, Florida, the Caribbean, Michigan, North Carolina, and many other North American cross-country destinations.

Marilyn was a saintly woman who will forever be remembered for her big heart and strength. She was graceful, elegant, and an incredibly kind and generous woman with an easy-going temperament and a boisterous laugh. She was a social butterfly, and her energy was like a kid in a candy shop…she always had a twinkle in her eye with a great enthusiasm for life. Marilyn was a supportive and loving mother who always put her family first and was loved by all that knew her. Though her time on earth was cut short, her children are filled with gratitude to have had this amazing woman as their mother.

At the time of her passing, she was surrounded by the love of her children. She leaves behind daughter Victoria Foxworth (son-in-law TJ Foxworth, granddaughter Finley), son  Jon R. Miller Jr. (grandson Andrew and granddaughter Maisie),  daughter Mary A. Miller (son-in-law Seth Du Toit and grandson Darien), brother “Jack” John Giusti, sister Susan Boltz. She is preceeded in death by her parents, her sister-in-law, Pam(Jack) Giusti, brother-in-law, Jim (Sue) Boltz, and her beloved husband, Jon R. Miller, as well as her beloved pets Gretchen, King, Casper, Taffy, Bella, and Feral.

A private interment at First Lutheran Evangelical Cemetary will be held on June 1, 2024 followed by a public memorial service at 11:00am at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mokena, IL.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in her name to her church, Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church.  The hole left by her absence is impossible to fill, but her memory will live on for all that knew her. She was an angel on earth and now takes her place in the heavens above.

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