Doris Mae Miller

Doris Mae Miller age 92 of Alta Vista, IA died Saturday, February 1, 2025, at Colonial Manor of Elma.

Funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, February 8, 2025, at Trinity Lutheran Church in New Hampton with Rev. Sue Cira officiating.

Friends may greet the family from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. Friday, Feburuary 7, 2025, at Hugeback – Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton. Visitation continues an hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday.

Hugeback – Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton has been entrusted with arrangements.

Doris Mae Miller was born March 17, 1932, in Hanlontown, Iowa. Baptized in Belmond, IA, at St John’s Ev. Lutheran Church on April 17, 1932. Doris is the oldest daughter of the late Harry and Martha (Barkema) Gealow.

She started her first 9 years on a farm in Belmond until 1941 when they moved to Charles City. Where she built Easter baskets with sticks from around the house. She also lived by a railroad track where the engineer would throw candy at the children as they ran along side the tracks. Nashua and Ionia also served as her home in her teenage years. She received her education at a rural county school near Ionia and Nashua until she graduated from Nashua High School in 1950.  Her parents moved into Rockwell in 1953.

After high school she went on to work as telephone operator for Northwestern Bell in Charles city. She met annually for lunch with her fellow operators for 60 years or into her 80s. She talked about those years on many many occasions. As all young girls  would do they would spend their time looking for adventurous fun. What would they do? Go dancing at the local halls.  This is where she ran into Donald Edward Miller.

On August 21, 1955, she was united in marriage to Don Miller at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Rockwell. After their marriage, they moved to the home farm to help Don’s parents which they later purchased. Doris would always be hands on with the farm while having 4 children the first four years of their marriage. She then had two more children later on.

Doris started a new adventure in 1970 she didn’t have enough to do so she got her license to start driving bus for the New Hampton School district. She retired in 2003 with 33 years of service.

Doris was a lifetime member of Zion Lutheran Church until the closing last year. She had hobbies of gardening, farming, daily journaling, and spent many countless hours of quilting, and crocheting beautiful doilies and baby blankets, which we all have and will keep as a sacred part of our mother.  Doris and Don loved to go dancing and fishing with his brothers and their wives.

Doris is survived by their six children. Vickie Nehl (friend Bill Onderashek) of Alta Vista, Kathy (Donald) Lechtenberg of Lawler, Richard (Alice) Miller of New Hampton, Wayne (LuAnn) Miller of Sigourney, Janine Bennett of Wildomar, Calif., and Ronda (John) Kuehn of New Hampton; 21 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; three sisters Velma Brannon of Greene, Judy (Ed) Kohler of Buena Vista, Co, and Diane (Greg) Riles of Sheffield; one brother Donny (Patty) Gealow of Mason City. Two sister-in-law,  Clysta (Elmer) Gealow of Marshalltown, Beverly (Roger) Gealow of Woodlands, Tx. One brother-n-law, Kenny (Norma) Miller of Waterloo and numerous  nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband Donald July 5, 2010, her parents Harry and Martha; Mother-in-law Mamie Miller and father-in-law Julius (Jake) Miller; brothers Elmer and Roger Gealow, and Harry Jr. (died at childbirth); one sister Melva Hills; three brother-in-laws Louis Miller,Jim Hills, Emmett Brannon, and one sister-n-law Lois Miller. One son-n-law Charles Nehl.

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