Miller, Lester Joseph (1919-2003)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2003 May 19 p. 11

Birth date: 1919 Jun 30

text of obituary:

LESTER JOSEPH MILLER

Lester Joseph Miller, 83, of Kalona, Iowa, died May 10, 2003, at Pleasantview Home. He was born June 30, 1919, to Menno and Barbara Swartzendruber Miller near Wellman.

He was baptized and was a lifelong member of Upper Deer Creek Mennonite Church of Wellman.

On May 25, 1941, he married Katie Ann Kauffman at Upper Deer Creek Mennonite Church. She preceded him in death on May 2, 2003.

They lived in the Wellman area, where he farmed and raised purebred Guernsey cattle. They lived in Wisconsin for more than three years while in Civilian Public Service. They retired to Kalona in 1983.

He was an active supporter of Mennonite Central Committee. He volunteered at the Mennonite Historical Society of Iowa and was a historian and genealogist.

Survivors include three sons, Duane and his wife, Sharon, of Burlington, Calvin and his wife, Jean, of Abingdon, Va., and Kenneth of Wellman; four daughters, Marietta Yoder of Kalona, Elvesta Hochstedler and her husband, Loren, of Kalona, Rita Miller and her husband, Ellis, of Apple Creek, Ohio, and Ruth Beachy and her husband, Craig, of Plain City, Ohio; a brother, Paul Miller of Wellman; 21 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Katie Ann; a son-in-law, Jim Yoder; two sisters, Ruth and Lydia Miller; and a granddaughter. Funeral services were held at Upper Deer Creek Mennonite Church. Burial was in Upper Deer Creek Cemetery.