Scholarship fund to honor life of local woman

For much of her life, Cherokee County resident Queen Victoria Miller dedicated herself to making things better for those around her.

"My mother loved to help," said her daughter Freda Miller. "Everywhere she and my father settled, she thrust herself into the ministry."

Miller passed away in 2004, but her name will continue to be synonymous with helping others.

The Racial Ethnic Concerns Committee of the Providence Presbytery and Pleasant Grove Presbyterian Church in Clover has established a scholarship fund in Miller's honor.

The money will be used to help deserving students who need financial help get an opportunity to earn a college education.

"My mother would definitely be proud to have a scholarship named in her honor," Freda Miller said. "She was really involved in the lives of others... whether it be in the schools, church or in public."

Miller provided 56 years of service in the Presbyterian Church, serving in different capacities at congregations in Cherokee, York and Richland counties in South Carolina in addition to stops in Kentucky and Georgia.

She was also involved with the Girl Scouts, serving as a troop leader, a member of the The Minister's Wives and Widows of Cherokee and York counties.

Miller still was able to find time for her husband, the Rev. John Calvin Miller, and their 10 children. She also raised a nephew and grandson.

"She just loved young people and wanted to be part of helping them build their future," Freda Miller said. "This scholarship will help serve that purpose."

Shortly after her death, the Presbytery began looking for ways to honor Miller. After a number of ideas were ruled out, the notion of a scholarship fund won out.

"(The Presbytery) spearheaded the effort... they were definitely catalysts in getting this thing started," Freda Miller said.

The scholarship is still in its fundraising stages. For more information, call the scholarship fund's program coordinator Doris Barron at (803) 927-7575, or contact her by mail at 3960 Hord Road, Sharon, SC, 29742.