Janice Miller

Janice Louise Miller passed away at home in Long Beach, California, on February 18, 2026, after a life marked by deep faith, creativity, and unwavering devotion to her family. She was born on October 26, 1952, in Lynwood, California, to Gerald Kephart and Donna Applegate. She married Craig Randall Miller on December 2, 1977, and they shared 48 wonderful years of marriage.

Her home reflected her life: walls covered in quilts, framed cross-stitch samplers and biblical verses, family photographs, and landscapes of local beach communities, where she lived most of her life. A voracious quilter, she created countless quilts from the mountains of fabric she collected. When she ran out of space to hang them, she filled the homes of her sons, Randall and Michael, and then the homes of others by donating them to charity.

Her faith was steady and personal. She wore a cross that she would quietly hold during takeoff on the many last-minute trips to Las Vegas she and Craig booked over the years. From her mother, she inherited a love of genealogy, which she passed down to her children. She would love knowing that her descendants may one day read this while building their own family trees. Her life was stitched together through family, faith, and the many things she made with her hands.

Janice and Craig built a life together in Long Beach and, over the decades, developed their routines: green tea and muffins from Starbucks, pizza and garlic bread from Straw Hat Pizza, and many others. She was steady and present, the kind of mother who always answered the phone. She surrounded herself with photos so her family was never far away.

More than anything, she was “Grammy” to her grandchildren. She adored Roland, Rhett, and Reagan, and made sure they were thoroughly spoiled every chance she got. Visits rarely ended without something tucked into their hands to take home. Reagan Kephart Miller, her namesake, was her spitting image.

She leaves her husband, Craig; sons, Randall (Alex) of Houston, TX, and Michael (Elizabeth) of Salt Lake City, UT; grandchildren, Roland, Everett “Rhett,” and Reagan “Kepi;” siblings, Don (Kerrill) Kephart of Waimea, HI, and Debbie (Phil) Morrione of Hemet, CA; and countless cherished friends, who she invited into her home every week. She was predeceased by her parents. Janice will be interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cypress, CA.