Death of Wasilla Hospice Nurse Darlene “Dar” Miller Shocks Coworkers

Darlene "Dar" Miller, hospice nurse died in a house fire on January 6, 2009 in Wasilla, Alaska.

WASILLA — Darlene “Dar” Miller’s death in a house fire last week staggered coworkers all too familiar with death, loss and grief.

Miller spent the last eight years as a nurse with Mat-Su Regional Homecare and Hospice, an organization that provides in-home care for terminally ill patients and support for their families.

Her peers are finding there’s no coping mechanism to ease the shock of such a sudden, traumatic loss.

“We’re experts in grief and the dying process, but it’s different when it’s one of your own,” said Barbara Mistler, the center’s director. “Who takes care of the caregivers?”

Firefighters found the 54-year-old Miller unconscious and badly burned, but still alive in her Wasilla home Jan. 5. Though a cause has yet to be established, the long-smoldering fire apparently started near a bed on the first floor, burning so hot it charred beams and melted pictures on the wall. Miller’s two dogs died next to her.

She was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for burn treatment, but she died the next day.