Eleanor Miller

Peacefully and surrounded by her family, Eleanor Miller passed away on December 9, 2022 at the age of 97 years. She will be lovingly remembered as a smart, caring, and independent woman, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and friend.

She was born to Adolph and Anne Vik on August 15, 1925. While growing up on the family farm, she attended Draper High School where she would meet the love of her life, Gene Miller. After graduating as valedictorian and Miss Draper from Draper High School, she attended the National College of Business, where she proudly graduated in 1944. She continued her success by convincing her father to let her marry Gene in 1945 and together, in Draper, they raised their four children: Cheryl, Curt, Dale, and Kim.

In between farming and raising their family, the couple enjoyed attending any of Draper’s social events together, while also making plans to travel on adventures later in life. They were able to make on of them real by taking a long trip to beautiful Hawaii together. Eleanor would carry on with those plans of travel, after Gene’s passing, by taking many bus and cruise trips with her dear friends.

She cherished Sunday afternoons. It became an anchor for her life as a time for family, coffee, and often, her delicious homemade apple pie. She was a marvelous piano player who, while often getting a bit nervous, would play the organ for church. She would fill her home with the sounds of big band music. She also attended local concerts to hear those same brass and percussion instruments live. She enjoyed attending plays and musicals, even having season tickets for them at the local venue. In her quiet moments, she liked to challenge herself by solving jigsaw and crossword puzzles. There was nearly always a card table with a jigsaw puzzle on it just waiting to be finished so the next one could begin. Above all, caring for her family was the most important thing to her. The visits and get-togethers ended the same way: “We had a good day”.

Eleanor is survived by her children Cheryl (Wayne) Heisinger, Curt (Janet) Miller, Dale (Marlyce) Miller, Kim (Dan) Smith, as well as 11 grandchildren, and 22 great-grandchildren. She will be remembered with a smile.

In celebration of her life, visitation will be from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. on Friday, December 16. Prayer service begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Isburg Funeral Chapel in Pierre. Funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 17, at the First United Methodist Church in Pierre. Following lunch, burial will take place at the Draper cemetery. The service will be available on livestream at www.isburgfuneralchapels.com.

In recognition of the 20 plus years of her volunteering, memorial donations may be made to the Countryside Hospice, 415 S Crow St, Pierre, S.D. 57501.