Diedra Dawn Miller, born on February 2, 1966, entered into her eternal reward on April 24, 2023 at her home in West Monroe, Louisiana. She was 57 years old. Diedra’s visitation will be held on Monday, May 1, 2023 from 10:00 until 11:00 a.m. at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 121 Jackson Street, Monroe, Louisiana. Her funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on the same date at the Church with Rev. Thomas Kennedy presiding. Interment will follow at St. Matthew Catholic Cemetery.
Above all else, Diedra loved Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and practiced her Catholic faith with great devotion. Her fidelity to God’s grace had its greatest impact on her precious family, whose faith she helped to cultivate. Indeed, she fulfilled her vocation as a wife and mother with excellence, raising her children to love and trust the Lord wholeheartedly and to serve Him. Diedra also had a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed the Rosary daily. She would often advise her children to “Do the next thing” when faced with the difficulties of life. In many ways, this echoed Mary’s exhortation to “Do whatever He tells you”, as the Gospel of John recalls, before her Divine Son turned the water into wine. Like Mary, Diedra spent her life directing her children, and countless others, toward Christ.
Diedra graduated from St. Frederick High School in 1984, and attended Northeast Louisiana University where she received a degree in Occupational Therapy. She had the heart of an artist, and a passion for making jewelry, as attested by the countless Rosaries she made for her family and friends. Diedra also loved to paint, and was an avid reader. She had a great attention to detail, and a unique ability to have meaningful conversations with people from all walks of life about any given topic.
Of course, Diedra’s great passion in this world was her family, with whom she shared a special bond. She enjoyed a long and happy marriage to her beloved husband, Jerome Andrew Miller, who was the love of her life. She was fortunate to live close to her parents, brother, children and grandchildren, and routinely shared her home with them for meals and get-togethers. She loved her family deeply, and treasured her time with them.
Diedra is survived by her beloved husband, Jerome Andrew Miller; her children, Victoria Marie Close and her husband, James Ray Close; Elizabeth Marie Neilson and her husband, Luke Everett Neilson; Joseph Anthony Miller and his fiancée, Nicole Marie Jones; Therese Marie Katherine Miller; and, Father Thomas Kennedy. Further, she is survived by her two grandchildren, Quentin Joseph Bernard Neilson and Stephen Patrick Becket Neilson. Further still, she is survived by her parents, Robert Lewis Fava, Sr. and Jimmie Lou Gaines Fava; her brother, Robert Lewis Fava, Jr., in addition to many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers and sisters-in-law, and numerous friends.
“The One who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new’. Then He said, ‘write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me, ‘They are accomplished. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water.’” – Revelation 21:5-6
“My hope was never mistaken.” – St. Therese of Lisieux
