Lasting Memories

Luisa "Lilo" Miller
July 21, 1939-Oct. 11, 2018
Menlo Park, California

Luisa “Lilo” Miller died peacefully on October 11, 2018 at Palo Alto Commons where she resided for 3+ years. Previously, she lived in Menlo Park for 20 years where she had been an active birder and walker, jazz lover, volunteer at Gamble Garden and a member of the Palo Alto Garden Club and Newcomers Club. She became an avid sports fan of the Stanford Cardinal and the Golden State Warriors. Fluent in German and Spanish, Lilo volunteered as a Spanish-language interpreter for families at Stanford Hospital and had worked for years as a translator for the New Jersey courts. She enjoyed travelling and loved to spend summers at the Jersey Shore on Long Beach Island with her family. Lilo was born in Montevideo, Uruguay and spent her childhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina with her parents, Karl and Irma Oertel, and older sister, Irma. She obtained her master’s degree in biochemistry at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and came to the United States in 1963 to pursue doctoral studies in pharmacy at the University of Florida and Rutgers University. While studying in Florida, she met her husband, George, to whom she was married for 53 years. Together, they had two daughters, Claudia (Brian Perry) and Michele (Chris Heitzman), and four grandchildren, Kayla, Jack, Marcus, and Theo. In addition to Argentina, Florida, and California, she lived in Richmond, Virginia, Borstel, Germany, and Montville, New Jersey. In addition to her love for family and friends, Lilo was passionate about women’s health issues, scientific research, and the environment. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Planned Parenthood, the Nature Conservancy, or the Alzheimer’s Association.