Elaine Wagner Miller

Elaine Miller
Naples, FL

Elaine Miller (Wagner), 66 of Naples passed away peacefully on September 17th, 2021 watching her favorite show, “Wheel of Fortune” with loved ones by her side. She was born to the late Joseph and Alice Wagner (Wroblewski) in Newark, New Jersey on April 4, 1955. Elaine grew up in North Arlington, New Jersey and graduated from Queen of Peace High School in 1973, attended Jersey City State and Montclair State, studying communications. Her family and friends remember her fun-loving spirit, sense of adventure and love of music. She played piano from an early age and enjoyed playing Christmas Carols with family. She loved pop and rock music concerts in the NYC area. She loved to sing and had an amazing voice. Karaoke nights were a favorite past-time. Elaine loved sports and her first home teams, the Jets and the Mets. She knew all the rules and stats for baseball and football better than most. Growing up she’d go see the “Amazing Mets” as they were once called at the old Shea Stadium. She enjoyed spending time with her brother Bob & sister-in-law, Donna and her young nieces and nephew, Dawn, Kim and Bob in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey.

Elaine loved to travel and lived in the Caribbean in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, enjoying island life. She always loved the beach, ocean and a nice, warm climate. Working in the restaurant industry she was able to travel and work in different parts of the country,. On one of these extended trips to visit her sister, Joanne and newborn niece, Phaedra, she met the love of her life in Seattle, Paul Miller. They married November 23rd, 1988 in Seattle then packed their bags, heading on a road trip that eventually brought them to Naples, Florida where Elaine and Paul put down roots and would enjoy living and working for the remainder of their lives. Elaine spent a good chunk of this time working at the Mangrove Cafe on 5th Ave South, in the heart of Naples. She loved going on cruises with friends and loved to dress with style and flair, dubbing herself a “fashionista”.

Her quick wit and humor helped her to persevere through some difficult times. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, lost her husband, Paul in 2002 and then had a second bout with metastatic breast cancer in 2013. Courageous and determined, Elaine fought bravely, through all of this with a little help from her friends, family and support services for those coping with a cancer diagnosis.

Elaine is predeceased by her husband, Paul; brother, Bob (Donna) and her parents Joe and Alice. She is survived by her sister, Joanne; brothers-in-law Neil (Debi), Jerry (Sue Ann); her nieces and nephews; Dawn (Jack), Bob (Kim), Kim (Pete), Phaedra (Ed), Forrest (Angela), Crystal (Chris), Jennifer (Sean), Michael (Traci) along with grandnephews and grandnieces; Christopher, Elle, Wyatt, McKenzie & Mason, Devyn & Liam, Georgia & Josephine, Maxwell and numerous family and friends.


In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift donation to Avow Hospice in Elaine Miller’s name, https://avowcares.org/donate-now or to one of the many organizations working to find a cure to breast cancer.