On Jan. 22, 2014, Mildred (Potter) Barger passed away peacefully in the company of family in Biloxi, Miss. Mildred was 79 years of age, born in Frankfort, Tenn., July 17, 1934, one of 10 children to Clarence and Mamie (Cook) Potter.

Millie grew up in rural Tennessee surrounded by family and relatives, in a lifestyle close to the land and nature that many of us would envy in our modern times.

She often spoke of how her parents would preserve meats, fruits and vegetables on the farm, and it was hard for Millie to see an apple or blackberry go unused. After Millie raised her two daughters, she put herself through nursing school to become an R.N.

Upon retirement, Millie enjoyed many travel adventures including a cross country road trip with her sisters Nona and Elna. With Elna, Millie traveled to Israel and Egypt, and cruised through the inside passage of Alaska.

Millie and her daughter Cookie backpacked through the Yucatán Peninsula, went snorkeling in Belize and trekked through the Tikal Ruins in Guatemala. Millie, Cookie and Elna walked the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu and explored textile markets in Ecuador. After Hurricane Katrina, Millie moved to Whidbey Island to live with her daughter Billie (Cookie) and Billie’s husband, Richard. On Whidbey, Millie made many new, wonderful friends and once in a while won the pot playing Pinochle.

Millie was close to her grand-dogs especially Angie who slept with and protected Millie every night. Near the end of her life, Millie returned to the warmth of Biloxi to be close to her daughter Debby. In Millie’s last days, Debby and her husband Ramon lovingly cared for her. Millie is survived by her one brother and two sisters, her daughters, Debby Steybe and son-in-law Ramon, of Gautier, Miss., and Billie Risa-Draves and son-in-law Richard, of Whidbey Island, Wash., along with two grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and many loving nieces and nephews.

Millie had a very close and loving relationship with her daughters Debby, Cookie, daughter/niece Sharon Stewart and her BFF Jeni. Millie will be dearly missed for her gentle charm and warm friendship by her family and many friends in Biloxi and the Pacific Northwest.

“I’ll wait no more for you, like a daughter, that part of our life together is over. But I will wait for you forever, like a river.”