Deborah Ann Miller

Heaven needed another angel this week, and regrettably it came at our expense.  Deborah (Debbie) Ann Miller, 57, of Woodhull was abruptly taken from us at 12:49 p.m., Sunday, March 1, 2020 at Midwest Medical Center in Galena. With heavy hearts and teary eyes, we must now face the future without our beloved mother, grandmother, spouse, sister, and friend.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, March 7 at Rux Funeral Home in Galva. Visitation will be held from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m., Friday, March 6 at the funeral home. Burial will be in Evergreen Memorial Gardens in rural Kewanee. A luncheon will be offered following the service at Genisio’s in Woodhull, IL. Memorials may be made to the family or to a children’s charity of your choice in Debbie’s name.

Debbie was born August 29, 1962 in Galesburg, IL to Arnold and Lois (Goodale) Jacobs and welcomed by her big brother Rick. She grew up in Galva creating family traditions, which she would pass to her family, along with loving music and friends. All of which gave her the foundation for the beautiful soul we came to cherish.

After school, Debbie met and married Alan Anderson, with whom she had her two children, Brad and Heather. They were instantly the light of her life. Whether it was cuddling up to a good movie, or nursing them back to health after an accident, she was always the beam of light for her family. Although she excelled at car karaoke and dancing to 80’s music videos on MTV while cleaning the house, she was most proficient at baking cookies and other sweet treats and making their family vacations unforgettable.

Debbie’s compassion and love for her children and friends was directly reflected in her work as a Medical Assistant. Her selflessness and devotion were unmistakable, and her patients were the direct beneficiary of this. Along with this, her colleagues were allowed the opportunity to create a lifelong friendship with Debbie. Her strongest friendship, however, was formed when she met Jed. They were instantly and powerlessly in love with each other, and this was the beginning of their “Brady Bunch” style family.  After marrying on August 30, 2008, their families immediately grew. Debbie accepted and loved Jed’s children, Amber and Eric, as her own, just as Jed did with Brad and Heather. This love only grew with the addition of four “child-in-laws” and 13 grandchildren. No matter how strong Debbie’s love and adoration for her children was, nothing could compare to her grandchildren.

Jed and Debbie would climb mountains for their grandchildren…even if those mountains were just the couch cushions piled up on the floor during a sleepover. The sleepovers at grandma and grandpas were a highlight for all their grandchildren. Not only was bed time never brought up, but where else could you watch movies in your make-shift tent, eat junk food well past “Mom and Dad’s” bed-time, and always have fresh pancakes or waffles for breakfast. If it wasn’t a sleepover, it was a pool party. With a treasure chest of pool toys and floaties, and a cooler full of juice boxes and snacks, summer time was never boring at grandma and grandpas. Although these were great times, nothing could compare to Christmas. This is when Debbie would shine the brightest, by tying her cherished family traditions to the newly created ones each year. Not to mention the piles of presents awaiting the grandchildren, which made it seem that Santa Claus made an additional stop each year at Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Jed’s house.

Although she will not be able to share these memories and traditions any longer, they will be passed along with her same love and devotion by her surviving family members  husband, Jed Miller of Woodhull, IL, children Brad (Britton) Anderson of Oneida, IL and Heather (Brian) Nance of Galva IL, step-children Amber (Jared) Desmet of DeWitt, IA and Eric (Mariah) Miller of Bettendorf IA, grandchildren Adam Robertson, Grady and Avery Anderson of Oneida, IL, Ethan, Eva, Emma, Elise, and Evelyn Nance of Galva, IL, Grace Patterson, Jonah, Elijah, and Emilia Desmet of Dewitt, IA, and Matthew Miller of Bettendorf, IA, father Arnold (Arnie) Jacobs of Galva, IL and brother Rick (Patty) Jacobs of Bryan, TX.  Debbie was preceded in death by her mother Lois Jacobs.

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