Jill Ann Miles

Jill Ann Miles passed away at home in La Grande, Oregon on January 21st. She was 65 years old.

Born on September 27th, 1960, Jill was the second of five children born to Gary Lee “Buck” Welberg and Susan Ann (Broich) Welberg. She spent her early childhood in Boise, Idaho and Central Point, Oregon, before her family settled in La Grande. She attended La Grande High School where she participated in tennis and cheerleading. She continued her education at Eastern Oregon University, where she earned a degree in Liberal Arts while working and caring for her young daughters.

She began a long career in Economic Development in 1991 as an Economic Development Specialist with the Northeast Oregon Economic Development District. She eventually became the National Recruitment Officer for the State of Oregon, where she worked with large companies such as Facebook, Amazon, and Google to bring jobs and development to the state. Jill received several accolades throughout her career, including Economic Development Leader of the Year (2013), and the Mary Jo Hanover Award for Excellence (2023) from the American Industrial Asset Management Council. Jill was also named one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers in 2016. Jill will be remembered by her colleagues as both a mentor and a teacher; she spent nearly two decades teaching economic development courses through the Community Development Institute in Boise, Idaho, and the Northwest Economic Development Course through Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.

Jill spent her later life in Vancouver, Washington, with her husband. She was a member of the Catholic faith. Jill loved reading, cooking, dancing, card games with her family, cheering on the Dodgers with her siblings and her father, and international travel with her husband and her friends. Most of all, Jill enjoyed time with her daughters and her grandchildren.

Jill is survived by her husband, Kelly Sills, her daughters Ann (Zac) Willmarth, and Alix (Dane) Dinsmore, her grandchildren Perry Dinsmore, Jolee Dinsmore, Thatcher Willmarth, and Ezra Willmarth, her father Gary Welberg, her siblings Kim (Don) Frashier, Susie (Todd) Nice, Gary (Melissa) Welberg Jr., and Pat (DeAnne) Welberg, and seven nieces and nephews.

Jill was preceded in death by her beloved mother, Susan Welberg.