Nellie B. Milne

NELLIE BAKER MILNE, 93  Nellie Baker Milne (Nellie Faye Baker) died Monday, January 22, 2024 after a long illness. In her own words: “I was born to Fred and Grace Baker in Parsons, Tennessee on June 9, 1930.  My parents were farm type people whose first ownership of something was probably a cow.  They struggled of course since that was time when few people had any kind of training for work skills and other than gardening and maybe a few days of building work for the man of the house.  Sometimes some bit of railroad work since there was a train on a single track to the Tennessee River 6 miles away and of course many other men looking for regular jobs to help pay for only store-bought groceries, corn, flour, soda, and such.”

From those humble beginnings, Nellie attended Carson-Newman College (now University) in Jefferson City, TN, ultimately graduating with a B.A. in English Literature, with Honors in 1952.  She was selected to appear in the 1951-52 edition of “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges”.  From there, she moved to Memphis, TN and took a job at General Electric Supply.  In 1956, she met and married James (Jim) Milne, who was there on a company audit. Their union produced four children. As Jim rose through the executive ranks of GE, Nellie followed him around the world, living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Evandale, OH; Schenectady, NY; Bogota, Colombia; Richland, WA; Lynnfield, MA; Lynchburg, VA; Milan, Italy; and finally, Phoenixville, PA. In Phoenixville Nellie started working as a Salesperson in the furniture department at Gimbels.  Later, she was a seminar coordinator for CPE finally retiring in 1995.  In 2004 after the death of her beloved husband, she moved to Shannondell in Audubon, PA. 

When not packing or unpacking, Nellie was an avid gardener, enjoyed calligraphy and was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).  Perhaps her greatest love beyond family was music.  Inheriting a beautiful singing voice from her father, she sang in choirs for most of her life.

She is survived by her two sisters Aletha Oakley of Pekin, IL, and Sarah Baker of Santa Rosa, CA, four children, daughter Pamela Milne and Steve Carver, son Scott Milne and wife Jill, daughter Lucinda Schneider and husband Mark, daughter Rebecca Milne and Scott Geiger, along with two granddaughters: Ashley Grace Schneider, and Dr. Greta Lochie Schneider Bires and husband Dr. Kristofer Bires, great-grandson Luke Kristofer Bires, and step-grandchildren Tyler Porter Savage, Connor Andersen Savage, and Mackenzie Rita Savage. A memorial service celebrating Nellie's life will be held at Devlin-Gatcha Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc., 517 South Main St, Phoenixville, PA on January 26, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., followed by burial in Washington Memorial Chapel Churchyard, Route 23, Valley Forge, PA. A viewing will be held from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. Memorial contributions may be made in her memory to the ’Alzheimers Association <https://www.alz.org/&gt;. Condolences may be sent to the family at https://www.gatchafuneral.com