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Proceeds go to Brodell Relay for Life/optical services for children in need
WARREN
Georgine “Genie” Miller was all about helping people while she lived and still is helping them after her death.
Family and friends will come together to honor the memory of a caring and generous person who loved to celebrate life by having the first Genie in a Bottle fundraising event from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday at Up a Creek Tavern, 4793 E. Market St.
Genie died March 23, 2014, at 54, some six weeks after being diagnosed with cancer Feb. 11, 2014.
Genie, manager of Vision with Style Optical Products at Brodell Medical in Warren, had been elected co-chairwoman of Brodell Medical’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life in February 2014.
But she died of cancer before she could help lead the Brodell Relay for Life scheduled for a few months later.
Genie was being treated for a respiratory problem, but was having severe pain, said her husband, Walter “Wally” Miller III.
He took her to get an X-ray, which revealed a large mass on her lung. She was diagnosed with lung, liver, bone and brain cancer.
“She was being treated for brain cancer with one more treatment to go when she had a bad spell at home,” said Wally.
He took her to the emergency room March 21, moved her to hospice March 22, and she died March 23.
Genie in a Bottle, the theme for the Relay for Life Team Genie was to lead, was adopted as the name for the nonprofit charity organization in her honor.
Attractions for the event include four bands: After Midnight Band, 10 Cent Drafts, Waiting on a Booth and Doug & Dave. Also, there will be baked goods for sale, a basket and 50/50 raffles, an auction, a bake sale and T-shirts for sale. Food and drinks can be purchased from Up A Creek Tavern.
Tickets may be purchased in advance for $10. Call Wally at 330-270-9844.
Twenty-five percent of the money raised will go to the Brodell Medical Relay for Life Team and 75 percent for optical care for children in need, Wally said.
He said that Genie, a licensed optician, loved kids and was concerned with optical care for children in need.
Married just short of 31 years, Genie and Wally met when his sister came to visit him when he was in the Marine Corps stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Genie came with her.
The Millers had lived in Austintown since 1998, but Struthers was their hometown.
Genie, daughter of George and Norma Wolfe DiMartino, both deceased, graduated from Struthers High School in 1978. She has two sisters: Linda Clyde of Struthers and Karen Silver of Poland.
Wally, 55, is the son of Walter Miller Jr. and stepson of Shirley Miller of Youngstown. His mother, JoAnn, is deceased. He has two sisters, Debbie Gallagher of Struthers and Cathy Glasgow of Pataskala, Ohio, and a brother, Fred Miller of Columbus.
Wally, who graduated from Struthers High School in 1977, is employed at Flex-Strut Inc. in Howland,
He said a lot of family, friends and co-workers helped organize the event. “Everyone has been very generous,” Wally said.