Peggy Jane "Peg" Vance Millar
1944 - 2023
Peggy Jane Vance Millar passed away quietly in her Houston home on Thursday, May 25, 2023, after a year-long battle with cancer. Peggy's two kids, Meggan and Matthew Watson, were at her side.
Born August 22, 1944, Peggy grew up in a multigenerational family home in Provo, Utah, across the street from her elementary school and two blocks from her junior high, where Peggy's mom, Jane Alice Newell Vance, was head librarian. Peggy was an infant when her father, David Harris Vance, lost his life in World War II. She forged friendships in those early days that lasted a lifetime – with her gang of best friends converging in Houston in the final weeks and months to offer comfort and laughter, and retread long-worn stories from childhood.
From the start, and almost certainly as a product of her mother's influence, Peggy was an excellent student and a lover of books and words. This grew into a love of theater that manifest in her pouring her whole heart into plays and musicals throughout high school, writing and directing musicals for her church later in life, and exposing Meggan and Matthew to scores of productions at Houston's Alley Theatre in the 1970s and early 1980s, where Peggy was a long-time usher.
As a student at Brigham Young University, Peggy met and married a Texan named Joe Watson. The marriage produced a couple of "amazing" children and they moved to Houston in the mid 1970s. Although Peggy and Joe divorced, they remained friends and in each other's lives until the end.
In the mid-1980s, Peggy found a fellow lover of words in Jeff Millar who was a playwright, a novelist, a comic strip creator, a humor columnist and a movie critic for the Houston Chronicle. They married and lived a life of mutual admiration filled with their common interest in nature, arts, travel, subtle humor and principled banter over the proper way to arrange a spice rack until Jeff's passing in 2012.
Peggy lived a life of service. She was a public school teacher, a docent at the Houston Zoo, a master naturalist, a volunteer in the Houston arts community and a devoted mom who unselfishly fostered her children's interest in music, theater, sports, adventure and travel. As a dedicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she held numerous volunteer leadership positions over the decades and was always willing to put her own plans aside to help out a fellow member in need.
Perhaps most of all, she was a beloved grandmother. Meggan and her husband Hismar moved back to Houston to be closer to family soon after their first son, Rafael, was born, and not long after, Lucas was born. They loved their Nana, and she loved them – picking them up from school most days, reading to them and playing games, and teaching them a love of animals and music and nature just as she did her own kids. Later, the three of them would go on "grandmother" trips where she shared her love of national and state parks. They unequivocally adored her.
Peggy was both selfless and fiercely self-reliant. She was funny and fearless. She was practical and pragmatic, and she was impeccably honest and principled. She was a poet and a romantic and we will miss her forever and ever.
Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, July 7, 2023, at the Provo City Cemetery, 610 State Street, Provo, Utah.
Original obituary published by:
— Berg Mortuary of Provo | 2023
1944 - 2023
Peggy Jane Vance Millar passed away quietly in her Houston home on Thursday, May 25, 2023, after a year-long battle with cancer. Peggy's two kids, Meggan and Matthew Watson, were at her side.
Born August 22, 1944, Peggy grew up in a multigenerational family home in Provo, Utah, across the street from her elementary school and two blocks from her junior high, where Peggy's mom, Jane Alice Newell Vance, was head librarian. Peggy was an infant when her father, David Harris Vance, lost his life in World War II. She forged friendships in those early days that lasted a lifetime – with her gang of best friends converging in Houston in the final weeks and months to offer comfort and laughter, and retread long-worn stories from childhood.
From the start, and almost certainly as a product of her mother's influence, Peggy was an excellent student and a lover of books and words. This grew into a love of theater that manifest in her pouring her whole heart into plays and musicals throughout high school, writing and directing musicals for her church later in life, and exposing Meggan and Matthew to scores of productions at Houston's Alley Theatre in the 1970s and early 1980s, where Peggy was a long-time usher.
As a student at Brigham Young University, Peggy met and married a Texan named Joe Watson. The marriage produced a couple of "amazing" children and they moved to Houston in the mid 1970s. Although Peggy and Joe divorced, they remained friends and in each other's lives until the end.
In the mid-1980s, Peggy found a fellow lover of words in Jeff Millar who was a playwright, a novelist, a comic strip creator, a humor columnist and a movie critic for the Houston Chronicle. They married and lived a life of mutual admiration filled with their common interest in nature, arts, travel, subtle humor and principled banter over the proper way to arrange a spice rack until Jeff's passing in 2012.
Peggy lived a life of service. She was a public school teacher, a docent at the Houston Zoo, a master naturalist, a volunteer in the Houston arts community and a devoted mom who unselfishly fostered her children's interest in music, theater, sports, adventure and travel. As a dedicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she held numerous volunteer leadership positions over the decades and was always willing to put her own plans aside to help out a fellow member in need.
Perhaps most of all, she was a beloved grandmother. Meggan and her husband Hismar moved back to Houston to be closer to family soon after their first son, Rafael, was born, and not long after, Lucas was born. They loved their Nana, and she loved them – picking them up from school most days, reading to them and playing games, and teaching them a love of animals and music and nature just as she did her own kids. Later, the three of them would go on "grandmother" trips where she shared her love of national and state parks. They unequivocally adored her.
Peggy was both selfless and fiercely self-reliant. She was funny and fearless. She was practical and pragmatic, and she was impeccably honest and principled. She was a poet and a romantic and we will miss her forever and ever.
Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, July 7, 2023, at the Provo City Cemetery, 610 State Street, Provo, Utah.
Original obituary published by:
— Berg Mortuary of Provo | 2023
Peggy Jane "Peg" Vance Millar
1944 - 2023
Peggy Jane Vance Millar passed away quietly in her Houston home on Thursday, May 25, 2023, after a year-long battle with cancer. Peggy's two kids, Meggan and Matthew Watson, were at her side.
Born August 22, 1944, Peggy grew up in a multigenerational family home in Provo, Utah, across the street from her elementary school and two blocks from her junior high, where Peggy's mom, Jane Alice Newell Vance, was head librarian. Peggy was an infant when her father, David Harris Vance, lost his life in World War II. She forged friendships in those early days that lasted a lifetime – with her gang of best friends converging in Houston in the final weeks and months to offer comfort and laughter, and retread long-worn stories from childhood.
From the start, and almost certainly as a product of her mother's influence, Peggy was an excellent student and a lover of books and words. This grew into a love of theater that manifest in her pouring her whole heart into plays and musicals throughout high school, writing and directing musicals for her church later in life, and exposing Meggan and Matthew to scores of productions at Houston's Alley Theatre in the 1970s and early 1980s, where Peggy was a long-time usher.
As a student at Brigham Young University, Peggy met and married a Texan named Joe Watson. The marriage produced a couple of "amazing" children and they moved to Houston in the mid 1970s. Although Peggy and Joe divorced, they remained friends and in each other's lives until the end.
In the mid-1980s, Peggy found a fellow lover of words in Jeff Millar who was a playwright, a novelist, a comic strip creator, a humor columnist and a movie critic for the Houston Chronicle. They married and lived a life of mutual admiration filled with their common interest in nature, arts, travel, subtle humor and principled banter over the proper way to arrange a spice rack until Jeff's passing in 2012.
Peggy lived a life of service. She was a public school teacher, a docent at the Houston Zoo, a master naturalist, a volunteer in the Houston arts community and a devoted mom who unselfishly fostered her children's interest in music, theater, sports, adventure and travel. As a dedicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she held numerous volunteer leadership positions over the decades and was always willing to put her own plans aside to help out a fellow member in need.
Perhaps most of all, she was a beloved grandmother. Meggan and her husband Hismar moved back to Houston to be closer to family soon after their first son, Rafael, was born, and not long after, Lucas was born. They loved their Nana, and she loved them – picking them up from school most days, reading to them and playing games, and teaching them a love of animals and music and nature just as she did her own kids. Later, the three of them would go on "grandmother" trips where she shared her love of national and state parks. They unequivocally adored her.
Peggy was both selfless and fiercely self-reliant. She was funny and fearless. She was practical and pragmatic, and she was impeccably honest and principled. She was a poet and a romantic and we will miss her forever and ever.
Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, July 7, 2023, at the Provo City Cemetery, 610 State Street, Provo, Utah.
Original obituary published by:
— Berg Mortuary of Provo | 2023
1944 - 2023
Peggy Jane Vance Millar passed away quietly in her Houston home on Thursday, May 25, 2023, after a year-long battle with cancer. Peggy's two kids, Meggan and Matthew Watson, were at her side.
Born August 22, 1944, Peggy grew up in a multigenerational family home in Provo, Utah, across the street from her elementary school and two blocks from her junior high, where Peggy's mom, Jane Alice Newell Vance, was head librarian. Peggy was an infant when her father, David Harris Vance, lost his life in World War II. She forged friendships in those early days that lasted a lifetime – with her gang of best friends converging in Houston in the final weeks and months to offer comfort and laughter, and retread long-worn stories from childhood.
From the start, and almost certainly as a product of her mother's influence, Peggy was an excellent student and a lover of books and words. This grew into a love of theater that manifest in her pouring her whole heart into plays and musicals throughout high school, writing and directing musicals for her church later in life, and exposing Meggan and Matthew to scores of productions at Houston's Alley Theatre in the 1970s and early 1980s, where Peggy was a long-time usher.
As a student at Brigham Young University, Peggy met and married a Texan named Joe Watson. The marriage produced a couple of "amazing" children and they moved to Houston in the mid 1970s. Although Peggy and Joe divorced, they remained friends and in each other's lives until the end.
In the mid-1980s, Peggy found a fellow lover of words in Jeff Millar who was a playwright, a novelist, a comic strip creator, a humor columnist and a movie critic for the Houston Chronicle. They married and lived a life of mutual admiration filled with their common interest in nature, arts, travel, subtle humor and principled banter over the proper way to arrange a spice rack until Jeff's passing in 2012.
Peggy lived a life of service. She was a public school teacher, a docent at the Houston Zoo, a master naturalist, a volunteer in the Houston arts community and a devoted mom who unselfishly fostered her children's interest in music, theater, sports, adventure and travel. As a dedicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she held numerous volunteer leadership positions over the decades and was always willing to put her own plans aside to help out a fellow member in need.
Perhaps most of all, she was a beloved grandmother. Meggan and her husband Hismar moved back to Houston to be closer to family soon after their first son, Rafael, was born, and not long after, Lucas was born. They loved their Nana, and she loved them – picking them up from school most days, reading to them and playing games, and teaching them a love of animals and music and nature just as she did her own kids. Later, the three of them would go on "grandmother" trips where she shared her love of national and state parks. They unequivocally adored her.
Peggy was both selfless and fiercely self-reliant. She was funny and fearless. She was practical and pragmatic, and she was impeccably honest and principled. She was a poet and a romantic and we will miss her forever and ever.
Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, July 7, 2023, at the Provo City Cemetery, 610 State Street, Provo, Utah.
Original obituary published by:
— Berg Mortuary of Provo | 2023
Gravesite Details
Interment 7 July 2023
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