Betty Miller, 91, a lifelong labor union and political activist, known for her boundless energy and drive, died of heart failure on August 7 while at the beach with her family in Fenwick Island, De. She is preceded in death by her husband of 41 years, Saul, former AFL-CIO director of publications .

Betty believed in action, and throughout her life went to bat for the causes she believed in, often leading the charge.

She was born in Brooklyn, New York she grew up in Glen Cove, Long Island. She worked while attending night school at New York University, where she soon was the president of several organizations. She met Saul, a fellow night student and the editor of the student newspaper, when she went in to complain about an editorial he had written.

While Saul was serving in WWII she worked as a "Rosie the Riveter" at a plant in Baltimore, helping to screw in the nosecones of B29 bombers. They were married soon after the war ended. Betty worked as a union organizer and reporter in a number of cities.

After they settled in the Washington area in 1952, Betty raised her four children while working full time. Her positions included Assistant Executive Secretary, Montgomery County Education Association; Education Director and Assistant to the President, AFSCME; and Director of Contract Administration, Department of Labor, from which she retired in 1984.

She then became even busier with volunteer activities. In 1986 she managed the campaign of Carlton Sickles for Congress, and worked in many other campaigns. Her many community positions included serving as Public Policy Committee Chair, Montgomery County Commission on Aging; Legislative Vice President, United Seniors of Maryland; Education Chair, National Capital Union Retirees; Chair, Friends of Histadrut; and board member for the Montgomery County Fair Representation Committee, Mobile Med Inc., and National Council of Senior Citizens. She was also an elected delegate to the Maryland Constitutional Convention in 1967-68. In 2007, she was nominated to the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame.

Betty is survived by brother Ken Elbaum, sister Sylvia Kasloff, sons David (Nancy) and Jon (Cheryl) Miller, daughters Kate (Dave) Berkemeier and Judy (Scott) Chambers, and six grandchildren.