Service to be in Juneau for ‘Rosie’ Pauline Miller, 91

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Category: Obituaries

Created on Wednesday, 10 July 2024 12:52

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Rose Pauline Miller (Rosie)

On Sunday, June 23, 2024, Rose Pauline Miller (Rosie) went to heaven to help make heaven a rousing place, just like she did at every place where she went in Alaska.
Rose Miller was born May 7, 1933, in Juneau, Alaska. Her Lingit name was Jinkasee.ee, a name referencing the hard work of hands. She is Dakl’aweidi, the People of the Inner Sandbar. Her father’s people were the Kaagwaantaan, and her grandfather’s people were the L’uknax.ádi. She is of the Kéet Gooshi Hit, the Killerwhale Dorsal Fin House from Tlaakw Aan, the Village that Always Was.
Rose had 11 children, 23 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren.
After spending her early years in an orphanage, she was adopted by her grandparents when she was 5. After reuniting with her mother, she, her mother and her sister moved to Jonesville, Alaska, and then on to a trapper cabin in Lake Clark, Alaska. She helped build a cabin, run her own dog team and live a subsistence lifestyle.
At age 16, she moved back to Juneau where she married and started a family. She worked three jobs to support her children and became the first female bartender in Juneau.
She moved to Sitka, training under her good friend Ethel Lund to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. That job eventually took her and her family to Anchorage, where she worked for Providence Hospital, while also working for the Hotel Captain Cook.
In 1971, while on her fishing boat she went to Pelican. She fell in love with that town, began saving money to purchase a bar. Meanwhile, she moved to Hawaii to be near her daughter, managed four apartment buildings and ran a painting business. By 1973, she was able to return to Pelican where she purchased and opened “World Famous Rose’s Bar and Grill.”
Her bar became famous among all fishing boats that fished Alaska’s waters. She was also the center of the community of Pelican. She helped celebrate weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, farewells and holidays at her bar.
She supported the Pelican Fire Department financially and as a member. She served on the Pelican School Board, the Pelican Health Board, and the Indian Education/Johnson O’Malley Board. She organized local events, including basketball tournaments, boxing matches, Easter egg hunts, cribbage tournaments, and holiday celebrations and taught Sunday school.
Her bar was always open to everyone on holidays so that everyone in town had a place to go to for a hot meal and good company.
In 1998, Rose received the Golden Key National Honor Society Award from the University of Alaska in recognition of outstanding scholastic achievement. In 2008, her above contributions to Pelican saw her awarded the Bill Bivin Alaska Small Business of the Year Award by the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce.
As her health began to decline, her bar was sold in 2015 and she moved to Juneau to be cared for by her family.
A service will be held for Rose 2 p.m. July 19 at the Evergreen Cemetery followed by a farewell luau at 4 p.m. at the Juneau Moose Lodge. All those who knew Rose are encouraged to attend in order to celebrate the life of this wonderful Alaskan. Wonderful stories are guaranteed to be told, family said.

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