Born on October 29, 1941, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to John “Jack” and Doris (Smith) O’Rielly, Pattie was raised in a home filled with music and laughter. Family sing-alongs around the piano were a cherished tradition, often recorded on her father’s Recordio — a rare luxury that preserved not just music, but the sound of daily life and love, mailed to distant relatives in an era before long-distance calls were practical.

Pattie’s passion for music led her to the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, one of the nation’s most prestigious conservatories. Her exceptional talent earned her the distinction of becoming the school’s first freshman soloist in the senior choir — a point of pride she carried for life. While at Northwestern, she met Frederick Madura, whom she married in December of her first year, returning to Sioux Falls for the ceremony.

They eventually settled in Skokie, Illinois, where they raised three children. Pattie was a devoted mother — deeply involved in Girl Scouts, school activities, and annual summer camping trips — and she made it her mission to raise self-sufficient, confident children. She believed in equal footing: her daughters learned to change tires, and her son learned to cook and do laundry. As her children grew more independent in the mid to late ‘70s, Pattie began working outside the home, managing Miller’s Steak House on Western Avenue. They were famous for their baby back ribs and Pattie was the hostess everyone loved.

In the early 1980s, the family relocated to Simsbury, Connecticut, where Pattie embraced community life and served with the Simsbury Junior Woman’s Club. She continued to balance grace and grit — as she had throughout her life — whether volunteering or supporting her family’s next chapter. A few years later, another move brought them to Westport, Connecticut. There, Pattie began working with Dr. Leonard Zazlow, a pioneering prosthodontist launching a dental software company, Superbyte Inc., where she played a key role in early marketing efforts.

After Frederick’s untimely passing in 1989, Pattie returned to the Chicago area where she reunited with James Miller, her best friend and former neighbor from their Skokie years. They had lived across the street from one another decades earlier,

October 29, 1941 – August 9, 2025

raising similarly aged children who played together. What began as a deep friendship blossomed into love, and they were married in November 1992 in Kohler, Wisconsin, joining two families into one.

Pattie joined Jim in running the family business, Murphy & Miller, Inc., a respected commercial HVAC firm founded by Jim’s father. As chairman, Pattie brought a sense of unity to the company — bridging engineering, sales, and service with both professionalism and warmth.

Though they lived full-time in Chicago, Pattie and Jim spent many cherished summers with family in Lake Leelanau, Michigan — a place of deep peace and renewal for them both. Over the years, they poured love and care into personalizing their lakeside home, making it a welcoming haven for their children and grandchildren.

Pattie delighted in the simple joys of life there: cooking for a full house, tending to her garden, painting, boating, and watching the ever-changing moods of the sky and water from sunrise to sunset. In 2023, they fulfilled a longtime dream by making Lake Leelanau their permanent home.

Pattie is survived by her devoted husband of 32 years, James Miller, and was preceded in death by her first husband of 29 years, Frederick Madura. She is lovingly remembered by her children Michele (Robert) Shaw, Laurie Wayne, and Mark ( Jennifer) Madura; her stepchildren James Miller Jr. (Ailene), Shannon (Kirk) Miller-Lutz, and Danielle (Martin) Salomon; as well as her many grandchildren Brandon Williams (Susan), Ellison O’Reilly (Murphy), C.J. Williams, Griffin Williams, Jason Wayne (Stephanie), Jake and Sarah Miller, A.J. DiPietro, Joseph Salomon, and great-grandchildren Aubrey and Owen Williams.

She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Doris O’Rielly, her sister and brother-in-law Maryanne and Dennis White, and her son-in-law Thomas Wayne. Pattie will be remembered for her intelligence, poise, and unfailing kindness — a life filled with song, laughter, and the steady strength of a woman who always put love and faith at the center of everything she did.

The family asks that your expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to Mayo Clinic. For online condolences, please visit: https://www.martinson.info/obituaries/ Patricia-O-Miller?obId=43924197#/ obituaryInfo Arrangements are with the Martinson Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Leelanau.