Barbara Sue Sanders (Woodard) Miller, born August 7, 1943, passed away peacefully at home on Pentecost Sunday, May 24, 2026, with her husband Cecil by her side. Sue and Cecil’s watchword for all their years together was, “The Best is yet to come!” And that was made true again Sunday morning as she reached that beautiful heavenly shore.
Sue was the youngest of four children, born to James Harold Sanders, Jr. and Rubye Mae Oakes Sanders in Valhermosa Springs. She was preceded in death by both parents and her three beloved siblings and their spouses, Patsy Rae (Robin), Dora Woodard (Russell) and Wallace Sanders (Beth). Her husband of 17 years and father of her children, Walter Darrell Woodard, also preceded her in death as did her stepson Kevin Miller.
She is survived by her husband of thirty-five years, Cecil Miller and her three children Nathan Woodard, Jaina Glaze (Phillip) and Hannah Brake, stepson Craig Miller (Brigitte), grandchildren Joshua Woodard, Colter Anderson, Bennett Brake, John Brake, Elizabeth Brake and great granddaughter Sage Woodard and a host of beloved cousins, nieces and nephews.
She graduated as Miss Eva High School in 1961 and attended Florence State College, now the University of North Alabama. She raised her children in Cullman, Alabama where she was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church. She was an avid cook and homemaker, winning Cullman County’s Best Cook in 1992. After her husband’s death in 1982, she ran Woodard’s Fashions in downtown Cullman for a number of years and was a member of the Downtown Merchants’ Association and the Cullman Chamber of Commerce.
Sue raised her children camping cross-country in a 1972 Chevy VanDura, a former painter’s van, converted into a camper. With a tent strapped to the top, the family traveled over two and a half weeks to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, The Tetons, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Sequoia National Forest, Yosemite, gambled a little in Las Vegas, saw Crater Lake, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, the Great Salt Lake, Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, traveled San Francisco’s Lombard Street, “the crookedest street in the world,” visited cousins Griffin and Howell in California and picked fruit in their orchards—blood oranges, among the most memorable. By 1982, Sue’s children had visited 40 of the 50 states. Summers over the years were spent enjoying the family cabin at Smith Lake or spent with Cecil at their home swimming pool where everyone was always welcome.
Sue was a competitive Everything—Rook player, Dominos, Easter Egg Hunter, Scrabble, Cooking, Spelling…even Bananagrams. She was Cullman County Senior Spelling Bee Champion in 2011, 2012, and 2014 and was the oldest female competitor in 2012. She and Cecil were 2017 State Champions in the Masters Games of Alabama in Rook; Cecil remembers they won state three times. In June 2024, Sue and Cecil won the Senior Rook Championship at the Athens Regional Competition. In July of 2024, they competed and won first place in the state-level Masters Game of Alabama in Rook.
Sue and Cecil loved to entertain and spend time with family and friends in their lovely home where they decorated for every holiday: Snow Village at Christmas, Precious Bunnies for Easter, and bunting for Fourth of July swim parties. Sue made every birthday special and was always a wonderful hostess.
The family is eternally grateful to the caregivers, neighbors, church members and friends who have tirelessly worked to keep Sue at home through these last years. Caroline Moody, Aleisha Roberson, Pam Kelly, and Connie Self—words cannot express our gratitude and love for these four in particular who served Mom with so much compassion and dedication day in and day out. We thank you.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 30, 2026, at First Presbyterian Church in Cullman, AL (615 Third Avenue, SE; Cullman), First Presbyterian Cullman’s Pastor Cherie Fancher officiating and Rev. Jaina Glaze assisting; Jeff Underberg serving as pianist/organist for the service. Visitation will be from noon to 1 p.m., with the service at 1 p.m.; burial following at Cullman City Cemetery. A treasured family reunion tradition is a hymn-sing around the piano; the family invites all our family and friends to join us in an impromptu choir to lead congregational songs during the service, Phillip Glaze directing.
