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Obituary
Icy Miller, a former volleyball player at Hudson High School, had "just blossomed'' in the past six months, her parents said.
By CARY DAVIS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 25, 2003
At first, Icy Miller filled her adoptive parents with worry. Icy was 5 when she was adopted by John and Lois Miller. She had spent three years in foster care, and it showed.
"She was the most insecure, shy child," Lois Miller recalled Monday. "She may have been 5, but she clung to my legs like a 2-year-old."
Then, gradually, worry turned to pride. Icy grew into a beautiful young woman, a gifted athlete who earned all-state honors as a volleyball player at Hudson High School. Life wasn't perfect: Icy won a volleyball scholarship to Pasco-Hernando Community College but dropped out after a year and drifted between jobs. She couldn't seem to shake her insecurity, her parents said.
Ms. Miller was killed Thursday (Feb. 20, 2003) in a motorcycle accident in Tampa, just when she was beginning, her parents said, to find the self-confidence that had been so elusive. She was 22.
"She just blossomed," Lois Miller said. "She became so confident in the last six months of her life. We were so proud of the person she was becoming."
In the days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Ms. Miller took a job as a security screener at Tampa International Airport. She loved her job and talked of a career in law enforcement, her parents said. She had just moved into her own apartment.
A few weeks ago, on Valentine's Day, her boyfriend told her, "I love you."
"She was so excited," John Miller said. "She was always scared of the love word."
Last Thursday, Ms. Miller and a group of co-workers left the airport a little after 9 p.m. and headed for a Tampa restaurant. Ms. Miller caught a ride on the back of a motorcycle.
On Hillsborough Avenue, a semitrailer truck turned in front of the motorcycle, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The motorcycle's driver, 23-year-old Joseph Bellomo of Tarpon Springs, squeezed the brakes and tried to steer away from the truck.
But it was too late.
Ms. Miller, who was wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead later that night at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. Bellomo survived but suffered multiple broken bones and internal injuries. The accident remains under investigation.
Ms. Miller was the youngest of four siblings adopted by the Millers.
As a child, Ms. Miller hated "Icy" -- the name given to her by her biological parents. The name goes back for generations in the family. In elementary school, Ms. Miller wanted to change her name to Sally, to put an end to the teasing from classmates.
"We had to convince her that she had a very special name," John Miller said.
Ms. Miller's exploits on the volleyball court at Hudson High were legendary. She led the Cobras to the state title game in 1998. At 5-foot-10, she dominated the net as a middle hitter, earning first-team all-state honors. She also starred on the basketball team.
School never came easy for Ms. Miller, but that didn't stop her from bringing home report cards filled with A's and B's. "It was a burden," John Miller said. "She had to work very hard."
When she wasn't playing sports or studying, she pursued her other passion: singing in the choir at St. Michael Catholic Church in Hudson.
"She turned into such a beautiful young lady," John Miller said. "I want to get mad at her for getting on that motorcycle. But I can't. That's just the way she was. She was so full of life."
Besides her adoptive parents, Ms. Miller is survived by two brothers, John P. Miller Jr., Independence, Mo., and Harry A. Miller, Germany; and five sisters, Johnina Miller, New Port Richey, Lynn M. Terito, Port Richey, Casandra D. Killnger, Hudson, Angela J. Swingle, Iowa, and Natholee Swingle, West Palm Beach.
The family will receive visitors today at Prevatt Funeral Home on State Road 52 in Hudson, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. A memorial service will be held at noon on Wednesday at St. Michael Catholic Church, also on SR 52 in Hudson.