Nancy Jeanne Miller of Downers Grove, Ill., and formerly of Arvada, Colo., and Rushford, Minn., passed away on August 9, 2021, after a prolonged illness. She was 81 years old.
Born in La Crosse, Wis.,, on February 22, 1940, Nancy spent her childhood in Rushford, Minn., graduating from Rushford High School in 1958. She went on to earn a B.A. from Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Ind., and an M.S. in Administration and Organizational Behavior from George Williams College in Downers Grove, Ill.
Nancy was a tremendous advocate for women in the workplace, for which she devoted much of her professional career. She founded Women’s Inc., in 1970, designing and facilitating management awareness workshops for male managers as well as supervisory and management workshops for over 5,000 women through university systems across the country. After leadership stints at the Harris Bank and Wilson Learning Systems, Nancy co-founded Human Resource Management Systems, Inc. of Glenview, in 1985. She was responsible for sales and marketing management as well as the organizational development practice. She was one of the founders of the National Association of Women Business Owners, the founder of Women in OD (a national group of women in organizational development consultants) and she delivered numerous programs and speeches throughout the country.
Upon retirement, Nancy moved to Arvada, Colo., and met the love of her life, Derek McColl. They married in 2008, spending wonderful years together filled with happiness and adventure before Derek passed away in 2015.
Nancy was a loving mother and grandmother and will be remembered fondly for her commitment to creating a world filled with “goodness, truth, peace, beauty, justice and joy.”
She is survived by her daughter Margaret Iaconetti, son Michael (LouAnn) Wukitsch, son Matthew Wukitsch and eight grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Derek, parents, sisters and a brother.
A virtual memorial service will be held in the coming weeks. See www.cremation-society.com for details. Nancy’s ashes will be buried alongside Derek in Rushford, Minn., at a future date. For those wishing to honor Nancy, the family requests that donations be made to Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation at www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org.