Doing good in the neighborhood
Mary Miller often gets up at 3:30 a.m. on Tuesdays to be one of the first in line at charitable outlets so she can to get the most to help the people she aids every Tuesday in Suncoast Estates.
Miller distributes breads, sweets, clothing and more each week. She will be 88 in June, but that doesn’t stop her. Of all the volunteer work she does, she said, “It keeps me young. I know if I’m busy, I won’t get old.”
She said she never gets sick – “The worst thing I have is ear wax” – and she claims eating right is her secret.
Sometimes she even dons knee cushions she made herself from golf club covers, to help her kneel and get everything out of boxes to people in need.
Of her clothing area, it is known as “Miss Mary’s Boutique” and volunteer Trudi Bankston said Miller never stops. “She felt the need to help people, for people in need.”
Miller was honored last month at the coveted Paulette Burton Citizen of the Year Awards. She came in second place, but in the eyes of many in North Fort Myers, she is No. 1
“They broke the mold when they made her,” said Suzie Gillespie, Suncoast Outreach community coordinator. “I know it is an old saying, but in her case it is absolutely true. She has a heart as big as the all of outdoors.”
Her husband, James Gillespie, who is chairman of the Suncoast Neighborhood Task Force, could not agree more.
“Here’s another old saying: your grandmother may have told you you would only have three good friends in life. Mary is one of them to many, including me. She is incredible.”
Miller, a member of the Suncoast Neighborhood Task Force and a community volunteer, was nominated by Angel Coates for the Burton Awards.
In her nomination, Coates wrote that Miller “has been performing acts of kindness for many years” through the task force and on her own. Three days a week she picks up baked goods in her van for needy residents. In November, Miller’s efforts assisted in feeding more than 2,300 people. Coates noted that Miller cleans the neighborhood ditches twice a year and volunteers for charities including the American Cancer Society, Goodwill and Friendship Volunteers Centers.
“Everyone in Suncoast know Mary Miller. In fact, she’s the soda can lady!” Coates wrote. “Everyone knows that they can drop a bag of empty soda cans over her fence, and Mary will remove the tabs for the Ronald McDonald House and crush the cans! Her energy and willingness to serve others is endless.”
According to Booch DeMarchi of Lee County, the award was created in 1991 to honor Burton, a long-time Sanibel Island resident and government watch dog. She spent many years serving as a voice of the people to the Lee County Commission, as well as playing an active role in Sanibel politics. She died in a car accident in 1991.
The selection criteria for the award includes a “positive attitude, knowledge of the objectives and activities of Lee County government, a demonstrated interest in community/county government partnerships and promotion of harmony between the community and county government.”
She commends a lot of local donors, like Wake-Up America and the local Panera Bread Company on Pine Island Road. “I don’t know what we would do without them.”
Miller is also a busy member of the Cape Coral Moose Lodge, and recently hosted the Ladies Auxiliary lunch.
“I’ve been a Moose member for 20 years,” she said.