Sister Justina Marie Miller, OSF, 92, died in Assisi House in Aston, Pa., on Thursday, April 6. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 74 years.
Sister Justina was born Marie Elizabeth Miller in Lebanon, where she was a member of St. Gertrude Parish and a graduate of Lebanon Catholic High School. She entered the congregation in 1947 and professed her first vows in 1949. Sister Justina earned a BS in elementary education from Villanova University and an MA in elementary education and supervision from The Catholic University of America. She ministered primarily in education.
Sister Justina ministered for 21 years in the Diocese of Harrisburg in York, where she taught at St. Mary School for one year and was later principal of St. Joseph School for 20 years.
For 33 years, Sister Justina served in the Diocese of Trenton in education ministry as a teacher and principal. In her later years, she ministered in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for 13 years as a volunteer/tutor at Neumann University. In 2018, she moved to Assisi House, the congregation’s retirement residence in Aston, where she served in prayer and hospitality ministry until her death.
Additional ministry service included one year in the Diocese of Spokane at St. Joseph Family Center, where she served as a volunteer.
All services were held in Assisi House on April 12. Burial was in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston.
Sister Justina is survived by her sisters, Louise Kreiser, Irene McKenzie, Justina Burkholder, and Cecilia Rumpf; her sister-in-laws, Patricia and Susan Miller; her nieces and nephews; and her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
