Miller, Xenia S. (1918-2008)

Xenia Simons Miller (1917-2008) was born in Morgantown, Indiana, the daughter of Nellie Hosetta Wellons and Luther A. Simons; her father was involved in the lumber industry as a young man, and by the late 1920s became involved in furniture manufacturing. He was founder of the Columbus Hickory Chair Company (later the Columbus Hickory Furniture Company), one of a number of rustic furniture manufacturers in Indiana during the first half of the twentieth century. Luther Simons is remembered for his ingenuity and willingness to innovate in an industry characterized by traditional products and materials. He developed Simonite to substitute for rattan, an Asian import in short supply during the Second World War. He often employed workers with disabilities as well as elderly individuals, paying them at the same scale as others.
Xenia Simons Miller grew up in and around Columbus, graduating from Columbus High School and Indiana Business College before taking a position at Cummins Engine Company, working in the firm’s purchasing department. This is where she met her husband, whom she married in 1943.
Xenia Miller was deeply involved in the civic and cultural life of her community, her state, and the nation, with interests as varied as horticulture, music, historic preservation, education, and religion. She worked closely with the architects of her home in Columbus as it was being designed, particularly with Alexander Girard, with whose help she continued to develop the house’s interiors for many years.