Sara K. Miller

Birth: December 29, 1910 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Death: May 26, 1971 in Norristown, Pennsylvania Profession: High school physics teacher in Philadelphia PA from late 1930s to 1970 Family status: Sara Helen Kehler married Henry S. Miller on June 30, 1941. Sara gave birth to one daughter Sally Louise Miller (Lapan) on March 27, 1949.

Education: Sara attended schools in New York Baltimore and Philadelphia because her family moved around frequently due to her father's job as a civil engineer designing mass transit in those cities. As a high school senior at Germantown High School in Philadelphia Sara took a citywide exam and did well enough to earn a full tuition four-year Mayor's scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania where she majored in physics. Two years after earning the B.S. (June 1931) Sara completed the M.S. in physics from the University of Pennsylvania (June 1933). She received a fellowship to pursue a Ph.D. at Bryn Mawr College. She did graduate work there until 1935. Her professional goals shifted partly because of the need to help her sister support their aging parents and later because of her marriage. Although she did not complete a Ph.D. she continued increasing her knowledge of physics by taking evening and summer courses throughout her career. Sara was elected to three honorary fraternites: Pi Mu Epsilon (mathematics); Sigma Psi (science); and Phi Beta Kappa.

Professional Life: Sara received an appointment to Roxborough High School as a physics teacher in September 1935. She met and later married fellow teacher Harry (Henry S.) Miller. She took a maternity leave in 1948 and returned to teaching at another high school in 1950. Eventually she transferred to Germantown High School where she retired in 1970. Personal Life: Sara was a wonderful role model for her physics students as well as her family and friends. She was a caring individual who went out of her way to help others.

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