Deborah Sparkes Miller, 72, passed away on May 16, 2025, at CAMC General Hospital after a short illness.

Deborah was born on October 11, 1952, at St. Francis Hospital in Charleston, the daughter of William G. and Pat Sparkes of St. Albans. She is survived by her loving husband William D. Miller Jr. of Charleston, and by her sister Patricia Sparkes Cook of Williamsburg, VA.

Deborah graduated from St. Albans High School in 1970. She attended Marshall University Appalachian Bible Institute and graduated with a degree in Social Work from West Virginia State College.

She and William were married March 4, 1977. They met in 1975 after she was hospitalized for a nearly fatal auto accident.

In their college years, they were both members of Campus Crusade for Christ. She attended Highlawn Presbyterian Church in St. Albans, Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Cross Lanes, and was a member of the Celtic Episcopal Church.

She and William served as missionaries with the Christian Service Corps in Washington, DC (1977-1980). Deborah worked at Sojourners Women's Shelter, as a CNA at the former Mt. State Hospital in Charleston and at DHHR.

She enjoyed doing artwork, collecting antiques, and loved dogs, especially Lady, Binti, Candance and Frodo.

She'll be remembered by her friends and loved ones for her wonderful sense of humor and her great inner strength. Though physically confined in her last years to a wheelchair, Deborah is now free, perfect and whole, before the Throne of her Blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It may be fitting and proper to think of her passing not as a "death" but as a "release from captivity". May her memory be eternal.

No funeral services are planned. All messages and condolences can be forwarded to Cunningham Parker Johnson Funeral Home or online at www.cpjfuneralhome.com