Mary Ann Milz
October 18th, 1947 to December 16th, 2007

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Steve's mom, Mary Ann Milz, at 3:30pm on December 16th.  Mom fought a valiant battle against bone cancer since October 2006.  She underwent numerous chemotherapy treatments late 2006 and early 2007 followed by surgery to remove the tumor and replace her left femur and knee.  Unfortunately, the cancer she had -- osteosarcoma -- is very aggressive and it metastasized to her lungs where tumors attacked her bronchial tubes.

The strange twist is that she passed away here in Northwest Florida at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center.  Her goal throughout her whole cancer treatment was to be healthy enough to visit Walt Disney World one last time -- a trip she and my dad had planned for a year.  She wanted to see the Animal Kingdom park and attend Mickey Mouse's Christmas Party.  Well, she got her wish.  Her and my dad had a great time at Disney the week before her death.

After leaving Orlando, they came to visit us here in Niceville.  Her health started to decline on the trip up from Orlando and by Saturday the 15th she needed to go to the hospital.  Once at FWB Medical Center her condition deteriorated rapidly, leading to her peaceful passing.  My dad and I were with her when she passed and throughout the day the two of us, plus my wife Peggy, our son Jacob, and Peggy's mom Joan were with her.

It's hard to describe someone you love as much as your mother with mere words.  While mom could be a little loud, sometimes stubborn, and pretty regimented in her ways, she was one of the most wonderful and caring individuals you could ever know.  She loved her family and friends more than anything in the world and would go to the n-th degree to help someone whenever she could.  She was the lynchpin of the Milz-Krieg-Hoover extended family and her passing leaves a void that will never truly be filled.

Mom leaves behind her husband of 39 years, my dad Jim, who throughout her battle with cancer truly epitomized the marriage vows of "for better or for worse".  As mom would often say, dad was her "saint".  Except for when dad was at work, they were together pretty much every waking minute.  I think her sickness brought them even closer together than they had been before.  That was pretty evident when my techno-phobe dad actually broke down and got a cell phone so he could check on her from work every night.  Mom also leaves behind her mom, Catherine and brother Frank; my sister Janet and her husband David and daughters Rachel and Sarah; and of course myself and my wife Peggy and our son Jacob.

While we knew mom's time with us was limited, it is still shocking and painful to lose someone you love so dear.  We all maximized the time we spend with her over the last year as best we could, but you always want more and now that she's gone, we already feel the void of her absence.  Our consolation is that she went peacefully and that she's in a better place with those that have gone before her including her father Frank and her daughter Sheri.

Mom lived her life to the fullest, even during her darkest times.  Life's too short to take for granted and each passing minute is one you'll never have back.