Nicolet honor student, 14, dies; remembered as bright, caring

In the space of three days, the life of a promising 14-year-old Bayside girl was gone.

Laura Miller, a Nicolet High School freshman honors student, was taken by ambulance Feb. 18 to a local hospital, where doctors discovered a brain tumor. On Feb. 21, she died.

"It was a rare and highly aggressive brain tumor," Nicolet District Administrator Rick Monroe said this week.

The funeral was held Feb. 23 at Congregation Shalom, Fox Point. At school, teams of counselors were available to the students and visited Laura's classes throughout the day to help her classmates get through their loss.

"She was a sweet, hard-working, very bright and creative girl," Monroe said.

A friend, Zoe Devorkin of Fox Point said, "Laura was probably the sweetest, nicest girl I ever met."

She remembered an event when she and another friend were at a table to make peanut butter sandwiches for an activity at school.

"Laura could have been at the table with her really close friends," Zoe said, but she joined the pair who were alone.

"She was such a bright, caring kind young woman," Zoe said. "It's sad she left us."

Laura worked for the student newspaper and was on the student council.

Laura is survived by her parents, Ronald and Susan Angel Miller; sisters, Sara and Rachel; grandparents, Marvin and Sherie Miller and Jack and Helen Angel; and uncles, aunts, cousins, other relatives and friends.

Private interment was at Mound Zion Cemetery, 14510 W. North Ave., Brookfield.

Blane Goodman Funeral Service handled the arrangements.

Jane Ford-Stewart can be reached at (262) 446-6607.

MEMORIAL FUND

Contributions can be sent to:

Laura Miller Memorial Fund

Jewish Community Foundation

1360 N. Prospect Ave.

Milwaukee, WI 53202