Add me to the list of people who wrote for Nancy and got a double bonus out of it — an excellent editor and a personal friend. In a time crunch the rest of the world might become terse on the phone — but not Nancy. No matter how tight the deadline she was always charming, friendly, funny and kind. In this and a million other ways — not the least of which were her wonderful Saturday morning essays — she enriched our lives. It’s impossible to think that she’s gone.

I had never met Nancy Miller but am sickened to hear of her needless, untimely death. I so looked forward every weekend to reading her column in the Lifestyles section of the Post and sure was sad to learn she was retiring when she did last May/June. What a sincere, funny, upbeat writer!! It is so unbelievably sad that her retirement (at least from the Post) lasted such a short time. May God comfort her family and companion Peter.

Nancy Miller was my instructor in Mass Communications last semester at Forest Park Community College. She was funny and so easy to talk to and she especially loved talking about working for a newspaper this gave us all a chance to find out what that was like. Even though i had only met her for one semester she certainly left in endelible impact with me and for that alone i will miss her. eva olson

Dale — Thank you so much for doing this.

At first, I almost resented the sunshine this morning, as if a day that starts with such awful news should be gray and dismal. It was a horrid twist that the Saturday paper — for so many years, the home of Nancy’s column in the section she made come alive — would be the way so many of us would find out. I haven’t picked up a Saturday paper since Nancy’s retirement without missing her and her way with words, with an anecdote, with sharing life. I realize now that I always heard her columns in her Southern drawl. Among her legacies, she leaves a number of editors and reporters who are better at both because they worked with and learned from her.

Nancy Miller was my direct editor on the Metro desk when I was a young reporter hired at the Post-Dispatch during the mid-1990s. She was a skilled editor, an encouraging mentor and a friendly face in a sometimes intense newsroom. She was the kind of editor who recommended restaurants and books while also making (excellent) suggestions on how to improve a story. She encouraged creativity and good writing. You could discuss story ideas with her and not worry about ridicule.

Because of the nature of the job, a lot of journalists develop thick skins and distant emtions regarding the people being written about in the news. But not Nancy. She was a sensitive soul who cared deeply about the people behind the headlines: The children struggling in St. Louis schools, the families living in impoverished conditions and the victims of violent crimes. How heartbreaking and devastating that she, too, became a victim of a horrible, tragic crime.

Nancy also showed her compassion to the people in the newsroom. When I moved to St. Louis from the West Coast, she constantly asked how I was doing, how I liked where I was living, how I was coping with the weather. As my boss, she was so caring when she learned that my mother had cancer, and she was understanding if I needed to take time off to visit my mother. She continued to ask about my mom for years after.

When I got engaged, we giggled over wedding-planning details. It was just a year or two ago that she asked me how I was enjoying the Mikasa French Countryside plates that I had registered for and received as wedding gifts almost 10 years ago. I didn’t even recall the name of my dishes. But after speaking with her, I went home and checked and, yep, she was right on. That’s just how classy she was.

We stayed in touch after I left the paper. She always had kind words to say about me and my writing, about my husband and his funny sense of humor, about my daughter and her big, brown eyes. Speaking of my child, I moved back to St. Louis in 2004, a few months before I gave birth for the first time. I hadn’t seen Nancy in five years, and she gives me a $50 gift card to Target to buy my baby girl “some pretty clothes.” That’s just how generous and kind she was.

I will miss Nancy very much. My heart goes out to Peter and her family.

Readers will never know how much of Nancy Miller went into their Saturday Lifestyle section. I sat on the Features copy desk, diagonally across the aisle from Nancy, before she retired, and I can tell you all that in addition to writing her column, she read every word in every Lifestyle, usually twice. She was a pro, gracious and caring and careful. My day started with “good mornings” with Nancy as I arrived and “good nights” when I left. Yes, she was there early and stayed late.
Most of our conversations, however were about music. She was a big fan of folkie/alt-country/singer-songwriter types, and we often traded stories about and reactions to shows at Off Broadway or the Focal Point or the Sheldon. We shared a mutual respect and admiration for the music of Tom Russell. For the past several years, Virginia and I met Nancy and Peter at Off Broadway for Tom’s then-annual appearances there. In a few weeks, TR will be back in the area, in Mount Olive, and it will be strange to be there without her. Russell’s “Blue Wing” will be even more powerful: “And I fly away beyond these walls/
Up above the clouds where the rain don’t fall/
On a poor man’s dream.”
We are poorer now, Nancy; you are missed.

I worked with Nancy for many years at the Post-Dispatch. She was always kind … even during difficult times. I am sickened with grief.

The world is a colder place without Nancy.

I so enjoyed reading her colums in lifestyle. It was like we were chatting in person. I’m just sicken to hear of her death. Please extend my sympathy to her family & friends.

Nancy has been my close friend for nearly 20 years. There is no one word to describe her, but if I had to, gracious would be that word. Nancy was stunningly kind, regally charming yet completely unpretentious. It is so comforting to see how much she meant to so many people.
I respected her, admired her, enjoyed each moment spent with her and loved her. I will miss her so much.

Nancy Miller was one of my best friends for more than 20 years. She was my second boss at the Post-Dispatch and one of the kindest, brightest and most thoughtful people I know. As a boss, she was fair and encouraging and always led with our strengths. As a friend, she was loyal, dependable, and always ready with good advice. I think the last tidbit she shared with me was the benefits of Kenmore vacuum cleaners — they’re the best! She emailed me twice this week just to find out how I was doing. My voice was probably on her answering machine the night she died.

I am numb with saddness and grief over her loss. She will be deeply missed by all she touched, especially those of us who loved her and had the great privilege of knowing her well. Rest well, my friend. Love, Lia