Barbara Miner

Barbara Jane Miner passed away on May 25, 2023 in Holland, MI at the age of 95. She was born on August 20, 1927 in Eugene, OR. She spent her childhood in Northfield, MN; Fargo, ND; Waterloo, IA; and Fort Collins, CO. She was a proud alumna of Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa; and of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where she earned her Master's in Physical Therapy. She spent her adult life in Grand Rapids, MI, and many happy summer months on Drummond Island, MI. She retired from her career as a physical therapist in 1992 as the director of OutPatient Services at Butterworth Hospital. Barb was preceded in death by her parents Henry and Dorothy Weiss; her husband Ed Miner; her siblings Leonard (Lee) Weiss and Betsy (Don) Kester; and dear friend Cornelius Van Nuis. She is survived by her children Ed (Colleen), Ann (Tony), and Grant; by her grandchildren Andy (Andrea), Jessica (Matthew), Eric (Svea), Abigail, Laurel, and Mitchell (Sydney); as well as four great-grandchildren. Barb was well-read, well-traveled, and well-mannered. Her family fondly remembers her passions for books, music, exercise, and volunteering. She was independent, intelligent, energetic, cheerful, resilient, organized, and infamously gullible. Beloved family memories surround travel opportunities Barb organized. She toured the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Germany with her teenage children in 1974. She took each of her grandchildren on weeklong Elderhostel trips the year they were 10: trips that included musical theatre lessons in Worcester, MA; white water rafting and zoo visits in West Virginia; a drive across the Hoover Dam in a white convertible; a tour of the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia; and a baseball expedition in Chicago. She also organized a large family reunion in Estes Park, CO in 2005. Barb loved to call any small trip, adventure, hike, or inadvertent detour a "bummel." She is now on her final bummel. A service of celebration will be held on August 19, 2023 at First United Methodist Church of Holland: visitation at 10am followed by service at 11am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Nature Conservancy Cremation arrangements were entrusted to Michigan Cremation & Funeral Care, Grand Rapids, 616-452-3006. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Barbara Miner, please visit our flower store.