Mrs. Careen Hatcher Miller

Jocelyn Careen Hatcher Miller died Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at Pruitt Healthcare in Sylvester, 10 days shy of her 81st birthday. A funeral service will be held at 1:00 PM on Monday, December 11, 2017 at Banks Funeral Home with interment to follow in the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Mitchell County. The Rev. Paul Thomas and Rev. John Hughes will officiate. The family will receive friends at Banks Funeral Home from 5:00-7:00 PM on Sunday. Careen had lived the last 15 years in Tifton, where she was a property manager, until a fall forced her to retire to Cypress Pond Assisted Living center in 2010. She was born December 15, 1936, in Richland, GA to Needham Carey Hatcher, Sr. and Lorene Lemacks Hatcher. Careen lived in Richland, then in Ellaville, before the family bought a pecan grove and small farm on South Mock Road, near Albany when Mr. Hatcher began teaching school in Albany. She spent her young years there, graduating from Albany High School in 1954. After high school, Careen attended Georgia Teacher's College in Statesboro. There she met her future husband, Clarence A. Miller. They had three children, David, Vickie, and Lorie. The family followed Mr. Miller's teaching career to Unadilla for a couple of years, until he took the principal position at the newly consolidated Worth County High School in 1961. The family moved to Athens for almost three years in 1966 when Mr. Miller enrolled in Law School at the University. When the Millers returned to Sylvester, Careen was active in the Sylvester Junior Woman's Club. She also worked for the Title I Office of the Federal Department of Education and was a highly successful representative of the cosmetics brand, Mary Kay, even earning a prized pink Cadillac due to her thriving sales. Careen was an accomplished pianist and enjoyed playing music and singing for her family and her church. Additionally, she worked as an interior designer and decorator in Albany and Sylvester, and was a talented sketch artist who drew her own design plans for homes as well as various other architecture. Careen moved to Athens in the 1990s, where she furthered her education at the University, and was a House Mother for Alpha Chi Omega and Delta Gamma Sorority Houses, overseeing the meal planning, safety, and well-being of over sixty college girls who lived in those homes. She moved back to South Georgia to live in Tifton in the early 2000s where she successfully managed her real estate investments, spent time with family and friends, and attended First Baptist Church of Tifton. Careen leaves behind a vivacious legacy of love, charisma, and class with her children David (and Gayle) Miller of Sylvester, Vickie (and Ed) Lubbers of Tifton, and Lorie (and Britt) Stevens of Gainesville. She enjoyed six grandchildren: Matt (and Amy) Miller, Josh (and Katie) Miller, Rebekah (and Jason) Miller Setser; Michaela Lubbers; and Leandra Stevens and Breland Stevens. Careen also had three great-grandchildren: Nolan Miller (Josh and Katie), and Destiny and Anniston Setser (Rebekah and Jason). She is survived by her siblings Carey (and Betty) Hatcher, Jr. of Albany, Richard (and Carol) Hatcher of Watkinsville, and Donna (and Raymond) Castleberry of Dahlonega. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Tifton, Realey Sunday School Class, 404 Love Ave. Tifton, GA 31794 or Our Divine Savior Catholic Church Prayer Garden, 1205 Love Ave. Tifton, GA 31794. Please sign our online guest registry at www.banksfh.com. Banks Funeral Home in Sylvester is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Careen Hatcher Miller

December 15, 1936 - December 5, 2017