Elsie Miller, 86, of Bowdle died Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, at the Bowdle Nursing Home. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Bowdle, with the Rev. Winfried Schroeder leading the service. Burial follows at the church cemetery. Organist will be Candice Hoffman and ushers will be Gideon Schuh and Russell Bomesberger.
Funeral home visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, with family present from 7 to 8 p.m.
Elsie Reede, daughter of Lydia (Kilber) and Gottlob B. Reede, was born northwest of Roscoe on April 9, 1926. At age seven, she and her family moved to a farm south of Roscoe and at age 11, they moved to Bowdle. She graduated from Bowdle High School, Class of 1945. Following her schooling, she worked as a bookkeeper at the Farmer's Union Oil Co. in Bowdle. She then taught briefly at the Perman Rural School southwest of Bowdle in Walworth County.
She married Marvin E. Miller on June 27, 1947, at Bowdle. They farmed on Marvin's family homestead 13 miles southwest of Bowdle, in Walworth County. Mr. Miller died Oct. 22, 1977, and Elsie then moved into Bowdle. She moved to the Bowdle Healthcare Assisted Living Center in September 2006 and since September 2009, had lived at the Bowdle Nursing Home. Elsie was a member of St. John's Church and the church's Ladie's Aide. She also belonged to the Bowdle Senior Center and was a member of the Rock and Rolling Pins Extension Club. Cooking, baking, and reading were among Elsie's hobbies.
Elsie is survived by one son, Kim M. (Cindy) Miller of Bowdle; one daughter, Melanie J. (Delbert) Kilber of Sioux Falls; one sister, Lillian Hill of El Cajon, Calif.; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her father, on May 20, 1978, her mother, on April 28, 1974; two brothers : Leonard and Roy; and two sisters: Agnes Meyers and Lorraine Trudeau.
Casketbearers will be: Jeremy Schubert of Rapid City, Jake Bobby of Yankton, Perry Hoffman, Mark Bieber, and MyRon Zimmer of Bowdle, and Chris Carlson of Sioux Falls.
To leave an online condolence or to view the tribute video, please visit MillerLienFH.com.
Lien Funeral Home, Bowdle, is in charge of arrangements.