Victoria Elementary loses ‘great friend’

Danette Goulet

COSTA MESA -- She was said to always have a smile to greet, a hug to

comfort, a word to encourage and a Band-Aid to heal.

Janna Miles, who passed away Monday, will be sorely missed by all who

knew her.

A beloved wife, mother and grandmother, the 48-year-old Miles had a

second family at Victoria Elementary School, where she had kept the front

office running since the school reopened eight years ago.

“Everybody loved her,” said Prinacipal Judy Laakso. “She was a great

friend and had certainly been an integral part of this school community

from the beginning. It has really hit our community hard.”

After battling breast cancer for the last two years and having

undergone surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Miles passed

away in her sleep Monday night. The cause of her death is still unknown,

said her widower, Steve Miles.

He added that they had had a wonderful time that evening with their

eldest daughter, Lori.

“We had dinner, we laughed and joked -- she even let me watch Monday

Night Football,” he said with a chuckle, standing in the home they shared

in Costa Mesa.

That home, he said, speaks volumes about Miles and her love for

friends and family. Countless knickknacks and photos covered the walls,

each telling a story.

“Pretty much, Janna’s life was spent making friends,” Steve Miles

said. “She was one of those rare finds. No matter who she talked to or

listened to, she was able to make them feel better.”

That talent made the office at Victoria a warm place and served to put

parents and students at ease.

“A new parent would come in with a child and she would greet them and

immediately transfer the conversation from the parent to child, so the

parent could see here was someone that would take care of and look after

that child,” Steve Miles said.