Norina Miller
Jan. 31, 1983-Aug. 16, 2011
Oakland, California
Submitted by Terra Miller

Norina Miller, 28, died peacefully on Aug. 16, 2011, in her Menlo Park family home from brain cancer, diagnosed in 2006. Norina had been living in Oakland while earning a teaching credential and masters in education at Mills College. She grew up in Menlo Park where she attended Peninsula School and Menlo-Atherton High School. She graduated from San Francisco State University, majoring in dance, in 2010. Norina studied modern dance intensively from the age of five into adulthood under the guidance of Judith Komoroske, her first and most influential dance teacher.

Norina held a deep commitment to improving the lives of children. From an early age she expressed her commitment through action. She volunteered in children's dance classes; a village school in rural Maharashtra, India; the Boys & Girls Club in East Menlo Park; the Meher Spiritual Center teens' summer camp in South Carolina; and in bilingual elementary classrooms in San Francisco and Oakland. Norina worked for many years at Peninsula School in its summer and childcare programs, and in the third grade classroom.

Norina was deeply devoted to spiritual master Avatar Meher Baba. She made three pilgrimages to India and many trips to the Meher Spiritual Center in South Carolina. Meher Baba's work and teachings served as the inspiration central to every aspect of Norina's life. Her unwavering focus guided her, particularly through the five-and-a-half-year struggle with cancer, and served as an inspiration to others.

Throughout Norina's 28 years, she touched the lives of those in her wide circle of family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances in myriad and profound ways. She will be remembered for her intelligence and humor, her beauty and grace, her integrity and compassion; as a gifted artist and dancer; and beloved daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin, teacher and friend.

Norina is survived by her parents, Jeff and Terra Miller of Menlo Park; her brother and sister-in-law, Lee and Ayla Miller of Redwood City; her brothers, Cole and Dale of Portland, Oregon; and by four grandparents.

Tags: arts/media, teacher/educator