Sharon "Shari" Elizabeth (Morris) Miller

Sharon "Shari" Elizabeth (Morris) Miller, 63, of Portland and formerly of Cove, died peacefully Sept. 14 at her home following multiple health and heart problems.

A celebration of life begins at 1 p.m. Saturday Sept. 20 at Augustana Lutheran Church in Portland.

Shari was born Dec. 12, 1944, the oldest daughter of Manford J. Morris and Wilma M. Burch in La Grande. She graduated from Cove High School in 1962. In 1963, she married Dale L. Miller. He preceded her in death in 2007. The couple had two sons. They divorced in 1971.

Shari worked for many years in the La Grande area as a waitress, bartender and tavern manager of Cass' Tavern. She opened and ran The Righteous Rat boutique store in La Grande before moving to the Oregon Coast. There she lived and worked in the Tillamook and Newport area as a bartender for many years.

Shari loved the ocean and seafood but especially loved the people who lived in the small towns where she worked and lived. Those who knew her say she made friends with nearly everyone she met and never failed to help anyone who needed a hand, a meal, some mending or a friend.

Shari moved to Portland in 1987 and in 1989 she met a man she considered her soul mate and best buddy, Daryl Wakefield, they spent the rest of her life together living in Northeast Portland. They were inseparable - devoted to one another and to family.

Survivors include longtime companion, Daryl Wakefield; sons, Russ and Jeff Miller; sisters, Mina Ouellette, Carolyn Jeffers and Joy Shea; three grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.

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