Heather Purcell

Margarita Ortiz-Miller

Lovestrong Cremation Center 

Dr. Margarita Ortiz-Miller, Ed.D., passed away at the age of 88 while in home hospice care at 4:07a.m. Thursday, January 22, 2026, surrounded by her family. She was proceeded in death by herfather, Hilario Ortiz, Sr. (B.1900) from Crawford, Texas and mother, Galdina Reyes (B. 1912) ofPiedras Negras, Mexico. Margarita Ortiz-Miller was also preceded in death by her older sisterGuadalupe Rodriguez and younger brother, Hilario Ortiz, Jr. She is survived by Stephen C. Miller, herhusband of the last 43 years and her younger sister, Esther Delgado of Saginaw, Michigan. Sheleaves behind her daughter Debra Steinke, son-in-law Paul Steinke, and their children, Eric, Andre,Adrien and Brandon, great-grandchildren Keagan, Jonathon, Georgia, Bowen, Asher, Tyler, Connor,Zephyros. Margarita is also survived by son Dominic Castelloriazo and his wife Tracey Putnum ofSan Diego, California.
Margarita’s mother, Galdina Reyes, emigrated with her parents from Mexico to the United States in1917 at the age of 5. Margarita was born in Fowler, Michigan on July 2, 1937. She graduated fromSaginaw High School in 1956 and shortly thereafter married Patrick Castillo, with whom she had twochildren. Sadly, it wasn’t long before she was raising the children largely on her own. With thisresponsibility, Margarita worked as a secretary for Big Brother and Big Sisters in Saginaw. Ambitiousand driven, Margarita also attended college, the first member of her family to do so. She earned anAssociate Degree at Delta College. She went on to earn a Bachelor’s of Science and Master’sDegree in Bilingual Education at Saginaw Valley College. Margarita earned her Doctoral Degree atWayne State University in Detroit.
Margarita began her professional career in education as a second-grade teacher in Carrollton,Michigan. She later became a Bilingual Resource Teacher with the Mid Michigan Bilingual Program.Here, she taught elementary school students in the Carrollton and Buena Vista School Districts inMichigan.
In April, 1980 Margarita Castillo joined a group of 40 Michigan teachers (38 women/2 men) taking aspring break tour of Spain’s Costa del Sol region. It was here that she met her future husband,Stephen. They were married in Saginaw, Michigan on November 26, 1982. The happy couple lefttheir birth state of Michigan to make a new home for themselves in Houston, Texas in August andDecember 1982, respectively.
In order to become a school principal, the state of Texas required Dr. Ortiz-Miller to complete twomore Master’s Degrees, which included a Mid-Management Certificate at the University of Houston.She did so with flying colors, concluding her collegiate career with a cumulative 3.70 GPA.Dr. Ortiz-Miller devoted over 18 years to the Houston Independent School District. Initially sheworked three years as a 2 nd grade bilingual teacher at Durkee Elementary, followed by five years asAssistant Principal at Scarborough Elementary. Margarita served as Principal at DechaumesElementary for 10 years, retiring in 2002. Dr. Ortiz-Miller served with distinction throughout her entirecareer. Her tireless energy and devotion to her students was reflected by her school’s record ofacademic excellence and state recognition.
Margarita and Stephen traveled extensively together. They visited Alaksa, Hawaii, Spain, 1 two-weekTrans-Atlantic cruise from Galveston, Texas to Barcelona, Spain. 4 Western Caribbean cruises, 1Eastern Caribbean cruise and 1 Costa Rica cruise. Margarita lived for travel to new destinations andports of call. Following her retirement, she often accompanied Stephen’s business trips. He took herto Peru, The Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico, Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, Israel and Cuba.
Margarita loved spending time with her family, especially the grandchildren and great grandchildren inMichigan. in August 2025, her children treated her and Stephen to a trip to Michigan’s MackinacIsland.
A big sports fan, Margarita enjoyed watching each of the televised Detroit Tigers and Houston Astrosbaseball games, Houston Texans and Detroit Lions football games. She loved eating Mexican foods,gardening, reading and Hispanic cultural events. She loved drinking her namesake Margaritas at herfavorite Mexican restaurants. She is already greatly missed by her family and friends.

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Margarita Ortiz-Miller

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