Anna Mae Miller

Anna Mae Miller was a mother, a factory worker, a shop steward, a union leader, a grandmother, a Democrat and a Christian. She passed away at the age of 95 on September 27, 2021, in Eufaula, Oklahoma. Born on Bald Hill in Stidham, Oklahoma, on December 31, 1925, she was the youngest daughter of Alfred W. and Josephine Ella (Posey) Mitchell. She was the last surviving family member to bridge the generational gap to her uncle, Alexander L. Posey. Posey, bought the Eufaula Indian Journal in 1902 and as Secretary to the Sequoyah Constitutional Convention he wrote most of the proposed constitution. Calling for a two state solution for the Oklahoma Territory, Posey fought hard for Eufaula to be the capital of the Indian state of Sequoyah. In July of 2020, when the Supreme Court ruled in McGirt vs. Oklahoma that the Creek reservation continued to exist after statehood and that most of Eastern Oklahoma was in fact still Indian Territory, Anna Miller did a little dance to celebrate, and said "as it should be." When she was a teen she took a train to the San Francisco Bay Area where, living with her sisters, she worked in a shipyard as a real life Rosie the Riveter during World War II. When she started working she was making 35 cents an hour. Anna was married and had two children. Shortly after her divorce, she was hospitalized with tuberculosis. TB wreaked havoc on her body, making it impossible to work. She lived off of government assistance while her body slowly recovered, which included money enough for her doctor to make house calls until she was well. She was married three times, the third being the charm on April 27, 1963 when she married Roy E. Miller., who died on July 14, 2013. Roy adored her and they were married over 50 years. They went out frequently to dance or bowl, they often played cards with various friends and were much involved in the church. Once able bodied, she found work in San Leandro, California and became a member of the Bakers Unions NO. 125 AFL-CIO where she worked for Mother's Cookies for 23 years. When she stopped working she was making $11 plus benefits and a pension. In the early 1980's, one of the managers went against union rules and Anna Mae Miller, who had by then had worked her way up to shop steward, exercised her rights. She walked to the back of the factory floor to where the mixers were and raised her hand and said "lets go" and walked out of the factory leading a wild-cat strike with everyone behind her. The factory went silent in her wake, not to come back online until it was again compliant with union rules. She retired from Mother's and decided to move out west, well west of California's Bay Area. She spent the early part of her retirement in Mariposa County just under Yosemite National Park. She lived in her dream house that her husband Roy built for them, riding her mare Sary around the empty hills of the small town of Catheys Valley where they raised chickens and Guinea hens along with other critters. Her later years were spent near where she was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma. She was very proud of the comfortable retirement that she was able to provide herself with her 8th grade education having only worked at a factory. She knew that people could accomplish much if they were willing and worked together. She initiated the woman's bible study at the Church of Christ in Eufaula in 2002 in this spirit. Anna is survived by her daughter, Andrea Thompson; grandchildren, James Wilson, Jason Clapper and Kellyne Clapper along wit her great-grandson Paul Wilson, along with countless nieces, nephews and cousins. Anna outlived her parents, seven siblings (Nancy Schrimsher, Lela Johnson, Byrd Lanham Burns, Maude Sparks Smith, Wynonna Hoist Silk, Katy Posey and Sonny Mitchell), her son Stanley Eugene Thompson and her grandson Mitchell Roy Yahola Thompson. Anna always abided by her strong sense of right and wrong. Without fail, she greeted everyone with a huge smile on her face and that smile shall be missed.