Algonquin doctor delivered thousands of babies over 50-year career
A longtime Algonquin doctor who was a mainstay in her community is being remembered for her at-home approach and for delivering thousands of babies — including one in a jail cell.
Dr. Nora K. Miller died Friday at age 86, having practiced medicine for 50 years, including a stint as the president of the medical staff at St. Joseph Hospital.
“We always referred to her as a dinosaur in medicine because they don’t make doctors like this anymore,” said her daughter Barbara June Miller. “Before the emergency medical system we have these days, she used to go out to the scene of accidents when she got called by police.”
Miller joined the medical profession at a time when women were a rarity in the field, and she was one of 16 women from a graduating class of about 150 at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Family members said Dr. Miller was inspired by her aunt Dr. Libuse Bliss and had a drive to help others in any way possible.
“I remember hearing that she delivered a baby in the jail in Algonquin,” Barbara June Miller said Sunday night.
Dr. Miller was the family doctor for her three grandchildren, but she made sure to stay on their good side, according to family members.
“Only one time I recall that she gave one of the grandkids a shot,” said her daughter-in-law Anne Miller. “She didn’t want to be the bad doctor. She always had a nurse come in and do it.”
Starting a family practice alongside her aunt at a time before specialized medicine allowed Dr. Miller the opportunity to deliver thousands of babies.
“She was very proud of the fact that she delivered three sets of triplets. These days triplets are considered a high-risk pregnancy,” Barbara June Miller said. “Practicing OB (obstetrics) and delivering babies was probably a highlight in her career; it was a part of the career that she loved.”
Dr. Miller was on staff at Sherman and St. Joseph Hospitals in Elgin and was named the president of St. Joseph’s medical staff in 1976. She retired in 2002, but over the 50 years of practice she also found time to work with Altrusa International in Elgin and was on the Algonquin Library Board for more than 25 years.
“She was the Dr. Welby of our generation,” Anne Miller said. “She would go to patients’ homes and take calls late at night, calming people down, reassuring them. She constantly wanted to go to deliver babies.”
Dr. Miller, who was a lifelong resident of Algonquin, was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Warren Miller, in 1969, and her brother Calvin.
“Our loss is twofold — recently by her passing, but the loss when she retired from practice,” Anne Miller said.
She was named an Algonquin Founders Honoree, the Algonquin Woman’s Club Woman of the Year, Elgin YMCA’s Woman of the Year and a Fifty Year Club member of the American Medical Association.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Miller Funeral Home in West Dundee. A private funeral will be held Wednesday. Memorials may be given to the Algonquin Area Public Library, the Hospice of Northeastern Illinois, Altrusa International Club of Elgin of the First United Methodist Church in West Dundee.