Barbara Miller

John Bligh April 23, 2021

Retired teacher

Barbara Miller was a warm and welcoming teacher who found joy in helping students from other countries feel at home at PS 19 on Staten Island, where she taught for 10 years.

Barbara always had a smile on her face, said Jean Raleigh, the former chapter leader at PS 19. “She was somebody you wanted to chat with and have lunch with; she was so upbeat.”

Barbara died on April 23, 2021, of pancreatic cancer. She was 72.

Barbara began her teaching career in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, before transferring in 2001 to PS 19 on Staten Island, where she lived. A teacher for 26 years, Barbara spent the last decade of her career teaching preschoolers. She retired in 2011.

“She loved being a teacher and took pride in her career,” said Raleigh. “Her forte was the younger grades. She was happy to be the first to help preschoolers assimilate to school.”

Barbara’s daughter, Yonit Parenti, recalled how her mother reveled in the diversity of the children she taught at the dual-language school. “She embraced teaching children who arrived without a word of English,” Parenti said. “She would learn phrases of her student’s native languages, and insisted they eat communally.”

Barbara thought of herself as a second mom to the diverse group of 4- and 5-year-olds, Parenti said, and valued teaching the whole child. “Students would gain a love for learning and life skills from something as simple as setting the table and being a good mealtime companion.”

Barbara earned an undergraduate degree in business administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a master’s degree in education from the College of Staten Island.

Barbara loved to cook and always remembered everyone’s favorite meal. She was a voracious reader and nothing could stop her from reaching 10,000 steps on her daily walks.

She and her husband enjoyed traveling to Florida and California to visit their children and grandchildren, and to Maui, where they loved the Hawaiian lifestyle.

In addition to her daughter, Barbara is survived by her husband of 48 years, Richard; a son, Jeffrey; and five grandsons, Alec, Jax, Jacob, Julian and Jackson.