Loretta Ellen (Schmidt) Hanley-Miller

Jul 7, 1933 -

Aug 10, 2020

Loretta (Schmidt) Hanley-Miller, 87, died on Aug. 10, 2020, in Spokane, Wash. She was born on July 7, 1933, in Hanford, Wash., to Roy Samuel Beene and Edith May (Carlstrom) Beene. The family moved to Yakima and Loretta married her high school sweetheart, Thomas Schmidt, on April 17, 1952. In 1957, they followed Loretta's parents to Alaska where they lived 40 years. While there, they founded Lulu's Nursery in the Matanuska Valley and ran it successfully for 20 years.

Loretta and Tom eventually moved to Port Townsend, Wash., in 1997. They were married for 48 years until Tom died in July of 2000 and Loretta moved to Milton-Freewater, Ore. Two marriages followed: Jack Hanley in 2001 and Clarence "Bill" Miller after Jack's death.

Loretta is survived by her husband, Bill; her four children, Susan K. Thompson of Yacolt, Wash., Cindy L. Zinck of Wenatchee, Wash., Thomas E. Schmidt of Anchorage, Alaska, and Sharon K. VanHatten of Milton-Freewater; 11 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

Loretta is best known for her cheerful disposition and willingness to help others. She was an avid gardener for her entire life and later discovered a passion for painting that enriched everyone she knew. Until a month before she died, she was deeply involved in Meals on Wheels, the Milton-Freewater Senior Center and the Breadbasket - the local food bank.

A brief service and burial will be held at Milton-Freewater Cemetery at 3 p.m., on Friday, Aug. 21, 2020. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name to the Meals on Wheels program of CAPECO (Community Action Program of East Central Oregon) or any of the charities to which she gave so generously of her time would please her. A faithful Christian, she has moved on and we will miss her dearly.