Cousin Cece (Miller) Kennedy dies May 16th at age 72

We’re sorry to report that Cecelia Lou (Miller) Kennedy passed away last Saturday (5/16/15).  She had been in failing health the last few years and was recently admitted to the hospital.  She had been living for some time with her brother, Albert (Mike) Miller, and his family in Ione, Washington.

The daughter of Albert and Edca Miller, Cece was born September 8, 1942 in Milford, Nebraska. Early in life she spent some time in the Chadron area and Whitney, where her grandparents, Pete and Dora Miller lived.  Cece graduated from Ione (WA) High School and was married to Leslie Kennedy.  She is survived by two daughters, Anita and Leslee, who live in the Ione area. and by four granddaughters, one grandson, and two great-granddaughters..

We understand that no funeral service is planned.  Cece’s immediate family, including her sisters Betty Jo and Mary Dot, and brother, Mike, will gather in Ione, Washington, this June to celebrate her life.

Remembering Albert Miller...

Albert Miller, USMC

Albert Miller was born near Scottsbluff, Nebraska on October 25, 1925.  He was the youngest boy born to Peter and Dora Miller

Albert surely spent his most formative years growing up in and around Whitney, Nebraska.

While his older brother Fred served in the Army Air Force during World War Two, Albert signed up for a tour of duty with the U. S. Marines.  He joined on December 3^rd, 1943 and traveled to San Diego, California, where he completed boot camp and was then trained as a 90 mm anti-aircraft gunner crewman.  Shortly after training, he was shipped out to Hawaii and then on to Midway Island in the Pacific for the rest of his tour.   A couple of years later, on April 8, 1946, he was released from active duty at the Treasure Island Naval Station near San Francisco. 

He then went home to Nebraska.

Five months later, on September 14, 1946, he married Edca Kiron Shafer, who had been born in Albion, Nebraska.  When they married, Al was 20 – Edca was 19.  Interestingly, Edca’s mother, Mary Dussel Flock, was an older sister to Charlotte Flock, who married Albert’s brother Fred.  Thus, Edca’s aunt Charlotte was also her sister-in-law!

Albert & Edca Miller - 1980

Despite their roots in Nebraska, Albert and Edca moved to Washington state in 1948, landing in Malott, where they picked apples until the end of harvest. Then it was on to Metaline, where they lived in “sheep sheds.”  Albert worked at the old Diamond Match/National saw mill at Sulivan Creek and also at the Grandview Mines.

A short time later, moved to Metalline Falls and went to work in the Lehigh cement plant.  He later moved to nearby Ione, Washington.  It was there that Albert and Edca Miller would raise their family.  Their children were  Cecelia Lou, Betty Jo, Albert Michael and Mary Dot.  Cece and Betty Jo were born in Nebraska, while Mike and Mary were born in Washington.

When Lehigh workers went on strike in about 1954, Albert Miller bought the Carnation milk route that ran from Spokane to Metaline Falls.  It was a distributor-owned business that he operated for more than 32 years.

Sadly, Edca died on September 14, 1981, their 35^th wedding anniversary.  She was just 54 years old.   Al continued to work for a few more years, retiring with a disability at age 62.

In 1988, Al attended the 1988 version of the Miller family reunion at Wilson Park in Chadron. 

Albert Miller died in Spokane, Washington on June 25, 1997.  He was 71 years old.

This photo was taken in 1980 not long before Edca Miller passed away in September 1981.
In back (l-to-r):  Mary Dot, Albert, Edca, and Cece.  In front: Betty Jo and Mike.

Thanks to cousin Mike Miller for sharing photos and information with us.  Mike is retired as a communications electrician for Seattle City Light, working his last several years at the Boundary Dam project near the Canadian border north of Metaline Falls.  He lives in Ione.

About Albert and Edca’s children:  Cecelia lives in Ione, while Betty Jo Traphagen resides in Green Valley, Arizona.  The youngest in the family, Mary Dot Kilbourne, lives in Sequim, Washington. 


You'll find a variety of photographs in the Miller Family Gallery. 

Millers find a home in the Pend Oreille

Pete and Dora (Eckerdt) Miller came to the United States from Russia and were married in Longmont, Colorado in 1909. They ultimately chose Whitney, Nebraska, as their home, but their children would make their homes in other locales -- ranging from Wyoming and Arizona to Washington and Texas.

We've visited most of these places and must confess that we've become especially smitten with one of them.

The beautiful Pend Oreille River Valley north of Spokane, Washington, is home to many of Pete and Dora's descendants.

In the photograph above is their grandson, "Pete" Miller and his wife, Judy, who guided us up to this overlook above Metaline Falls, Washington, which they've called home most of their lives -- and the place they chose to raise their family. Pete's brothers, Wayne and Charlie, aren't far away, and their sister Jean and family live just to the south in Spokane. Their mother, Charlotte Miller, still lives in the family home nestled on a hill above the river. Pete's cousin Albert "Mike" Miller and his wife, Cheryl, live in nearby Ione.

It's easy to see why two of Pete and Dora's sons -- Fred and Albert -- chose to settle in this region after they left military service following World War II. There's nowhere in the country any more beautiful, and it's hard to imagine a better place to raise kids.

I suspect that if Pete and Dora Miller were to peek down from above today, they'd find great joy in seeing the wonderful lives many of their descendants have found in this part of the country. It's a far cry from the wind-swept plains along the Volga River where they grew up. I think they'd be very pleased.