Obituary of Lillian Miller

BIOGRAPHY MILLER ~ Lillian Jane "Peggy" Miller passed away in the Vermilion Valley Lodge, Vermilion, Alberta on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at the age of 92 years. Peggy will be sadly missed by her children: Sharon Coleman of Vermilion, Alberta, Duffy & Ron Cooke of Castor, Alberta, Gary & Wendy Miller of Kitscoty, Alberta, and Della Olson of Lloydminster; her sister-in-law Emily Welsh of Lloydminster; ten grandchildren, eight great grandchildren as well as numerous nieces and nephews. The funeral service was conducted from the Kitscoty Community Hall, Kitscoty, Alberta on Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 2:00 P.M. with Reverend Anne McGrath officiating. The eulogy was read by Wendy Miller. A tribute from the grandchildren was read by Andrea Desranleau. A duet "When It's All Been Said & Done" was sung by Karen King and Brenda Robinson. The hymns sung were "In The Garden" and "Mansion Over The Hilltop" accompanied on the organ by Karen King. The reader was Carol Coleman. The active pallbearers were her grandsons: Murray Coleman, Bryce Cooke, Mike Miller, Scott Olson, Brad Miller, Dean Miller and Craig Miller. The interment was held in the Kitscoty Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. EULOGY Lillian Jane Miller was born July 2, 1918 in Calgary, Alberta. Peggy Miller came into being when, as a toddler, the hired man referred to her as Peg Leg which became shortened to Peggy and stuck with her all her life. She died February 17, 2011 at the age of 92. She was predeceased by her husband David Miller in 1994, sons-in-law: Ron Coleman in 1978 and Don Olson in 2007, and brother Herbert Welsh in 2001. Peggy was raised on the farm in the Kinnaird District, and attended the "retarded" school at Kinnaird. (Myrna's term when Gramma showed her where she went to school). She didn't get started until she was 8 years old and had to quit part way through Grade 10 to help look after her mother. Peggy worked for Elmer and Kathleen Lang during the busy seasons - babysitting and doing household duties. She married David Miller on November 28, 1940 and raised a family of four children: Sharon, Madeline (Duffy), Gary and Della. Peggy was an extremely hard worker - stacking bales, milking cows, raising pigs and chickens, and in later years peacocks, guinea hens and donkeys. She also enjoyed a huge garden, picking berries and making various jams and jellies. Ron Cooke (who always had an on going contest with Don Olson as to who was the favorite son-in-law) said he would rather work with David than Peggy because David would take a break now and then but Peggy stuck with it until the job was done!!! Peggy taught her daughters how to cook and properly clean a house (I wish Gary had been included in these lessons). Peggy loved to dance and she and David took up square dancing for a number of years. She loved her music, Wilf Carter being a favorite and she rarely missed the Tommy Hunter Show. I always thought she was a little envious of families that were musical and could have a singsong at their gatherings. On that musical theme as Ron and Gary put it, she did like to "keep us all in tune" - Earlie used to have a little dance at their showers and at Don and Della's shower they were told to come prepared to dance. Well, they came fairly well primed to dance - Ron ducked out the door and Gramma nabbed Gary to dance, but not for long - as he's getting a bit of an "ass chewing" he hollers BINGO and moves on to someone else. Another lecture comes later when he's informed "you don't holler Bingo during a waltz". Peggy had a stubborn streak, had her own opinions and let you know what she thought. When her driver's license expired (she had tried to renew it but never caught the office open) and regulations required that she pass a test to obtain a new one she flatly refused - she'd driven for years and didn't need no damn test - so she continued to drive around the countryside, cushion under her butt, as she could barely see over the steering wheel, only requiring a driver if she wanted to go to town which was quite often!!! Peggy loved to holiday at the lake and anywhere else she could get to. They went on numerous trips to the States with friends and on quite a few bus excursions - her favorite being the trip to Alaska - there were quite a few friends along, including Bill McGee who got to singing and entertaining!!! She only ever flew once (as she had a fear of flying) and that was a story in itself. Bob and June Stone were coming over to discuss going on a holiday - Grandad had strict orders that a holiday was in the works!! When it was Hawaii that was suggested, Grandad stepped up to the plate and said that was a great idea - Gramma had to bite her tongue and off they went and she survived! Quilting was always a hobby of Peggy's, using any scrap of material she could find. In the early '70's she began making quilts for each grandchild as they arrived, followed by a grownup quilt supposedly for when they got married - except that never seemed to be happening - so she gave in and they all got their second quilt. (Some of them are still not married). Gramma continued to sew for herself and was still wearing some of her own blouses made on the old Singer treadle sewing machine. Peggy loved flowers, especially lilies. She always made sure there were flowers planted up by the deck at the lodge (with help from Sharon) and she watered them faithfully! There was always a brightly colored bouquet of artificial flowers in Gramma's room and she loved it when anyone brought her some real flowers! Life changed drastically for Peggy when David took sick in December 1993. They lived briefly in Kitscoty, then back to the farm for the summer and then moved to Vermilion in the fall of 1994. David passed away just after Christmas 1994 and Gramma was left to adjust to a new life on her own in a new environment. She moved into an apartment in 1995, where she continued her quilting, and a little bit of gardening. In 2006, she moved to the Vermilion Lodge and last fall to the Supportive housing unit of the Lodge. Peggy always wanted to be in the know about everything - what was happening on the farm, who died, who had a baby. The switch to private lines from party lines on rural telephones was quite a change for her. She was always ready to sit and visit and keep up on the happenings of her family and friends. I learned quite a few years ago that it was best to keep Gramma informed and up to date - she phoned me about a death once and I said "Oh, I already knew that!" From that day on I always phoned her first when I heard any news. In Vermilion she made treks to the Co-op morning and afternoon in hopes of meeting someone so she could have a visit and catch up on any news. Peggy was, as Cooke put it, the best mother-in-law you could ever ask for. Even the occasional lecture was always given with a dose of love and laughter! When the kids were younger she was always available to babysit when I had a last minute call to go teaching. Family was always very important to Gramma - family (including aunts, uncles, cousins) gatherings were held frequently on the farm. Everyone was fed and watered before she had a bite to eat. As the family grew occasionally I would get a phone call - I would like to have a feed but could we have it at your place as it is bigger. The tradition continues - the Miller family loves to get together, to eat, tell stories and play cards. What may start out to be a small get together often blossoms to a feed for 25 to 30 people. The last few years have been quite a struggle for Peggy as her body began to fail, necessitating numerous trips to the hospital. She knew what was happening - she was ready to go. We, the Miller family, thank Sharon for her love and devotion to Gramma these past few years. We know it hasn't been easy but we are so grateful that you were there for her. Thank you. We have laughed at her, we have laughed with her, we have raised our eyebrows at some of the things she has said and done but we will remember her with love for she has loved us all. She was our mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great grandmother and friend. She was that "feisty, little Peggy" in her rolled up pants and high heeled (not spiked) shoes. She was one of a kind!!! Peggy is at peace now - her pain is gone - but watch out David - little Peggy is on the move - you'd better get ready for an ass chewing!!! TRIBUTE ~ from the Grandchildren I am Andrea Desranleau, I am Della's daughter, I am the sixth grandchild, and the youngest of the three girls. I was asked to talk about Grandma on behalf of the Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. I called all my cousins this week and asked them for their memories of Grandma. I got reminded of some things I had forgotten about and I'm sure I reminded them of things they too had forgotten. Overall though, we all share a lot of the same memories of Grandma and most are from our time out at the farm. Time at the farm was a vacation for us but not for Grandma. She still had work to do and we were right there to help her. To us, her work wasn't really work; it was fun - probably because a lot of it had to do with her animals. Inside there was Dick, her canary that she took everywhere and outside we would feed Barney and the cats. There were chickens, peacocks, and guinea hens, but the animals we all remember best were her donkeys, Minnie and Joker, Grandma even let us name some of their babies. There wasn't love for all animals though. We would pick veggies and flowers in the garden and watch while Grandma hacked garter snakes into bits with the axe, because "they weren't getting another chance at life". We would go for walks and Grandma would destroy crow's nests with a big stick. When we got tired of helping Grandma, there was always lots of other stuff to do, play in the barn, ride the trike or just explore. There were usually a bunch of us and most of the time I think Grandma was happy to get us out of her hair. Unfortunately this sometimes led to trouble. There was a party line where you could listen in on the neighbors phones calls - that never went over well, even though I think she did it too, but most of the trouble was from sneaking treats. Craig remembers coconut creme cookies always being in the cupboard. For Melody, it was the butter tarts that were worth the trouble if you got caught. Grandma used to make them and keep them in a roaster in the bottom drawer. They were supposed to be for company, and even though we didn't live there we were not considered company. With all the time we spent outside some scrapes and scratches were inevitable, and Grandma was there with the Ozonol. Murray and Myrna both remember Grandma using that as the thing to heal all ailments. Being with Grandma was never a vacation from personal hygiene. You would never get away with not brushing your teeth when you were with her. During sleepovers, Mike remembers being yelled at to "clean behind your ears" and us girls were told to "change your underwear and let it air out." It also wasn't a vacation from manners and Grandma was there to correct you. Owen was always in trouble for leaving the table before everyone was done eating. Don't worry Owen, we all got our lessons too, and ours included getting hit on the knuckles with a utensil of some sort. It was usually Grandad doing the hitting but Grandma wasn't doing any defending. When you were all washed up and ready for bed, Grandma would make up the pull out sofa and make us ice cream floats. Grandma and Grandad would watch the news or Tommy Hunter but we don't remember that. What stands out for my brother Scott and I was that Grandma always had the best kinds of pop and that it was special to eat ice cream in bed. When you got a little older you would measure yourself against Grandma, it was soooo exciting to be taller than her. Not that it was too hard, as Brad wrote in Grade 5, Grandma was 4 foot 7. We all got there, even some of the Great Grandchildren. Well, maybe not all of us. Melody...did you ever make it? Grandma's mind was good until the end, she always remembered people's names, where they lived, who they were related to, and anything else you might want to know about them or their family. She never forgot a birthday and there was always a card with a few dollars enclosed, as well as some advice for the year to come, I was warned... "don't drink too many highballs", and Bryce was told to "stay out of the bar". You probably wouldn't ever find Grandma in a bar, well recently anyways, but she didn't mind the occasional drink. Two Christmas' ago, Ashley will always remember that somebody poured Grandma a glass of beer. She slammed back the beer, put the cup down and said "I'm ready to go now". Unfortunately I couldn't talk to Dean, he's in Italy on his honeymoon. I know he liked Grandma's spotted dog pudding and the ice cream floats. One of his and his brother's favorite stories is about donuts. Grandma was staying with the boys, she had brought some donuts and wanted to warm them up. Aunty Wendy had just gotten a microwave and Grandma didn't quite understand how it worked. The boys told her to put the donuts in for 10 or 15 seconds. She scoffed and said no, that can't be right. She put them in and about 5 minutes later out came the softest donuts ever. About half a minute later they were hard as rocks. The boys all laughed while Grandma sat at the table and sawed away at hers with a butter knife. We all used to joke that Dean was Grandma's favorite and she never disagreed. Unfortunately for him I think he'd been replaced. Grandma loved to visit with people and had lots of stories to tell. Dean's wife Billi, works in Vermilion and would stop by to see Grandma on her lunch breaks. Grandma was happy to tell her stories to fresh ears and Billi was always happy to listen to them. Memories often include how something or somebody looked and ours are no exception. Grandma will always be remembered with curled hair, rolled up slacks, a blouse, usually with some kind of print on it, jewelry to match, shoes with the little heels on them, and often a hat of some sort. She was constantly busy and never seemed to sit down. Always cleaning, or cooking, or just puttering around. We will always remember Grandma! She was a good person and an even better Grandmother. We are all lucky to have had her in our lives. So on behalf of the Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren, thank you for giving us all these memories to cherish for the rest of our lives. We love you and we'll miss you. CARD OF THANKS The family would like to thank Reverend Ann McGrath, Karen King and Brenda Robinson, Kitscoty Hall Ladies (for the lunch) and to our friends who sent cards and flowers, made donations to various organizations and made visits to our family. Thank you to Dean and the staff at McCaw Funeral Service for the compassion you have shown our family and your professional service. The Miller Family Donations in memory of Peggy may be made to the charity of the donor's choice.