Tanielle MILLERAge: 18 years1987–2005
- Name
- Tanielle MILLER
- Given names
- Tanielle
- Surname
- MILLER
- Hebrew
- תניאל גבריה מרגלית מילר
- Romanized
- Tanielle Gavre'a Margalit
Birth | 1987 (5747) Chicago, Illinois, USA - שיקגו, ארה"ב |
Death | February 1, 2005 (Shevat 22, 5765) (Age 18 years) Chicago, Illinois, USA - שיקגו, ארה"ב Cause of death: Meningitis |
Source | Geni Website Publication: http://www.geni.com/home Citation details: Aryeh Rotenberg |
Death | Tanielle Miller, 18
Chicago Sun-Times
Tanielle Miller's first name means "gift of God" in Hebrew, and for those who knew her for her 18 years of life, there was no better descript
Tanielle Miller's first name means "gift of God" in Hebrew, and for those who knew her for her 18 years of life, there was no better description.
At a time when society laments the stereotype of the sullen, self-absorbed teenager, Miss Miller was just the opposite, said Rabbi Harvey Well, the superintendent of the school system she attended and the rabbi of Congregation Or Torah in Skokie.
"She had a giving heart, a caring heart that was just open to everybody," Well said. Miss Miller, a senior at Hannah Sachs Bais Yaakov High School in West Rogers Park, died Feb. 1 of meningitis she contracted after getting the flu.
At her Feb. 2 funeral, an estimated 1,500 to 1,800 friends and relatives packed the synagogue, so many that hundreds of mourners had to stand during the service.
Miss Miller was an avid basketball fan, playing ball though eighth grade. She recently took in a University of Illinois game in Champaign and a Chicago Bulls game, where she sat behind the bench and snapped photos, said her father, Glenn Miller.
But Miss Miller was different from many other teens in her unusual sensitivity to other people's needs, said Rabbi Shimon Zehnwirth, principal at the all-girls Orthodox Jewish high school.
She often set up informal telephone study sessions with friends and wouldn't quit until she was sure everyone in the group understood the lesson, her father said.
If a classmate was sick, Miss Miller would take notes in class for the missing girl, then double-check with the teacher to be sure they were accurate, Zehnwirth said.
She took the time to learn the names of new students, particularly nervous-looking freshmen, even though she was in her final year of school. She'd snap group pictures at events, always being sure to hand out copies. She was instrumental in setting up a "birthday committee" at school that would recognize each student's special day so no one would feel left out, her father said.
"The girls said she was sort of like the spoon that mixed everybody together," Zehnwirth said. Miss Miller also helped look after her five younger siblings, ages 4 to 16, and often baby-sat in her West Rogers Park neighborhood. She regularly visited elderly people at a nursing home and volunteered at Hebrew school and even helped cook and set tables at weddings.
But she did all those good deeds without acting self-important or boastful, those who knew her said. "She did it before being
asked. . . . She did it because she wanted to," Zehnwirth said. Miss Miller attended kindergarten through fourth grade at Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School in Skokie, then went to Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School in Hyde Park for fifth through eighth grade.
After high school, Miss Miller had planned to go to Israel to enroll in a seminary for Jewish studies, her father said. She probably would have become a teacher, he said.
Her family has started the Tanielle Miller Foundation, and plans to apply for tax-exempt status. Contributions will be used to help young people with volunteering and educational efforts. The address for the foundation is: 2937 W. Estes, Chicago 60645.
In addition to her father, survivors include her mother, Ruth Rotenberg; two sisters, Asaysha and Nasya; three brothers, Mishael, Kolya and Nerya; her paternal grandmother, Millie Miller; her maternal grandparents, Hart and Clare Rotenberg; 14 aunts and uncles, and numerous cousins.
http://tmillerfoundation.com/tanielle.html |