Roxanne Miller
OBITUARY
Roxanne Lee Miller passed away peacefully on January 31, 2026 at the age of 78 from Alzheimer’s disease. She was born June 25, 1947 in Stockton, CA to Harry L. Miller, Sr. and Fern Hanford Miller.
In 1961, her family moved to Davis, CA when her father accepted a position as the State 4-H Youth Specialist (Kern to Sacramento Counties), administered by University of California, Davis. She participated in various school activities, including Vice President of her Senior Class. After graduating in 1965 from Davis High School, she attended Utah State University and graduated with a Major in Journalism and Minor in Art.
When she returned to California she began working in the California State Legislature as the Senate Local Government Committee secretary. In the 1970s, Roxanne became one of the first registered women lobbyists in California, representing the City of San Jose. She worked for San Jose for 44 years and served six mayors. During that time, she successfully ensured that San Jose’s legislative priorities were adopted and became law. Key wins were funding for the City’s expanding highway and public transit systems, including the new San Jose Mineta International Airport. Before she retired in 2018, she worked on statutory changes to allow the creation of “tiny homes” to address San Jose’s homeless problem, which was the basis for statewide implementation.
She loved living in Curtis Park and Land Park and started remodeling her homes, always keeping their historic feel. In addition to advocating at the State Capitol, Roxanne used the same skills to make a difference in City of Sacramento. She was appointed to the City’s Design Review Board and architecturally enhanced numerous development projects. She also worked on neighborhood issues such as saving Land Park’s historic caste iron street lights from demolition by the City. She also saved the historic Tower Theatre from a City proposal which would have forced the Tower Theatre to close. Additional passions were gardening, interior decorating and garage and estate sales.
She is preceded in death by her parents and is survived by her sister, Robin Wetmore and brother Harry L. Miller, Jr. and was buried in Fallon, Nevada. A celebration of life will be held on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at Sierra 2 Center, 2791 24th Street, Sacramento from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm where we’ll share stories about her life, career and local activism. Remembrances may be made in Roxanne’s name to the Northern California Alzheimer’s Assn at www.alz.org/norcal.