Just three months ago, the 85-year-old Grey Power Otago president and national secretary was hard at work, telling the Otago Daily Times there was still so much to do.
She happily continued in her work, right up until a few days before she died on Saturday.
For 20 years, Mrs Millar was a fearless fighter for Grey Power, advocating for the Dunedin community.
In a recent interview, she said she was driven by the underdog and by the fact she had the tools to protect them.
Everything she did was with other people in mind, she said.
"If I croak tomorrow, I think, ‘What’s it going to matter?’.
"I look at it this way — I’ve been extremely lucky that I’ve got all my faculties, I’ve got relatively good health, and if I don’t use it to the best of my ability, then I don’t deserve to have it.
"I think it’s important that while I’ve got this, if I really believe in something, I need to follow it through and do it."
Mrs Millar joined Grey Power Otago after she moved from Wellington to Dunedin and saw an advertisement for the organisation in the paper.
She thought it would be a great way to make new friends and before she knew it, she was Grey Power Otago’s new president.
She also worked for many years in communications with the National Airways Corporation and Air New Zealand.
Until very recently, she was a regular sight at Dunedin City Council meetings, Otago Regional Council meetings, at public forums and on the streets of Dunedin, keeping those in power accountable.
Grey Power Otago vice-president Helen Begbie said Mrs Millar’s death took everybody by surprise.
"It was sudden. It has come as a shock for most of us.
"She was Grey Power Otago — her knowledge, organisational skills and passion for fairness were awesome.
"And you have to remember, too, that she wasn't just working for Otago. She was actually working for the national Grey Power Federation as well.
"They are very big shoes to fill.
"At present, the committee and I are concentrating on working to keep her vision going."
A celebration of Mrs Millar’s life will be held at Gillions Chapel, in Hillside Rd, at 1pm on Thursday.
An obituary will follow.
