Mary-Jane Miller (right) with her late husband Jack Miller shortly before her retirement in June 2004.
Originally published in The Brock News | FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2022 | by Charles Kim
The Brock community is deeply saddened by the recent passing of Mary-Jane Miller, who spent 36 years with the Department of Dramatic Arts (DART).
Miller, who began teaching at Brock in 1968 and served as both Associate Professor and Chair of the department during her tenure, passed away peacefully at home on June 22.
A crucial member of the DART program, she was part of the early academic cohorts at Brock.
Miller’s level of dedication and commitment over her 36 years with the University still resonates with many.
DART Associate Professor Gyllian Raby has many fond memories of Miller, who impacted not only the department, but also its students.
“MJ set an example, consciously; she was a teacher in her every move. Her profound sense of duty made her step up for several years after her migraines undermined her desire to Chair the Department of Dramatic Arts,” Raby says. “She didn’t want to retire until she felt our fledgling department was stable and had found its identity; she cared so very deeply.”
DART Professor David Fancy says Miller “left a very strong legacy of commitment to theatre and dramatic arts in the Humanities and at Brock.”
“She was a key architect to the development of the Department of Dramatic Arts in the 1960s and ’70s,” he says.
After retiring in 2004, Miller went on to become Professor Emerita, maintaining strong ties to the Brock Dramatic Arts community.
Miller and her late husband, Jack Miller, who passed away in 2016 and also had a significant impact on the University, are remembered for their lasting contributions.
“Their combined generosity to the department was legion and they led forward with a most steady and loving personal relationship that taught me about the beauty of being quietly grand in later years,” says David Vivian, Associate Professor of DART and Director of the Studies in Arts and Culture (STAC).
Miller’s family will receive friends on Friday, July 1 from 11 a.m. to noon at Patrick J. Darte Funeral Chapel, 39 Court St., St. Catharines, with a memorial service to follow in the chapel.
Memorial donations to either the Stephen Lewis Foundation or the Brock University Scholarship Fund would be appreciated by the family.