Constance Ellen "Connie" Miller, 73, rural Minot and longtime McKinley Township resident died peacefully on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at Hospice of the Valley Dobson Home in Chandler, Arizona.

Connie was born to Clinton and F. Isabel Brooks on a farm near Nickerson, Kansas on October 12, 1935. She was raised and educated in Kansas, graduating from Reno Community High School in 1953. She earned her Bachelor's degree in education at McPherson College, Kansas, in 1957.

On December 24, 1956, she married Doran Miller of Minot, North Dakota in Las Vegas, Nevada. After college graduation, she moved to the Miller farm north of Minot in McKinley Township where she and Doran operated the family farm and raised five children together. Connie and Doran retired from farming in 1999, and have spent the Winter months for the past 23 years at their home in Mesa, Arizona, returning each summer to the family farm in North Dakota.

Connie was a member of First Lutheran Church in Minot, ND where she was involved in the Ladies' Circle, had served as program chairperson, and was a past Vice President of the Ladies General Board. She sang with the Cathedral Choir at First Lutheran for over 35 years. She was also an associate member of Love of Christ Lutheran Church in Mesa, AZ for over 20 years and sang in the choir. Connie has also served on the McKinley Township School Board.

Connie loved vegetable gardening, raising flowers, quilting, and crocheting. She and Doran traveled extensively throughout their married life, visiting five continents and many countries. Most recently, they traveled to England with their grandson when he sang at Cambridge University with the Christ Church Boys' Choir of Old Greenwich, CT. Connie was an accomplished soprano soloist as a young woman, and sang for numerous weddings and funerals. She was offered an opportunity to study and sing for the Robert Shaw Chorale in New York City by an anonymous benefactor. However, she chose to become a wife and mother, sharing her love of music throughout her life with her children and grandchildren, inspiring their interest in music lessons and music careers.

Connie's family includes her husband of 52 years, Doran, five children, ten grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. Her children are Faye (Ken) Mitchell of Rochester Hills, MI; Kim (Brad) Fisher of Mill Valley, CA; Sue (Blaire) Olafson of Glenburn, ND; David (LeeAnn) Miller of Minot, and Janet (Chad) Parton of Hickson, ND. Her grandchildren are Chase, Clinton, and Sarah Olafson, Tucker and Brooks Fisher, Hannah Miller, Braxton and Tristan Mitchell, and Isabel and Elizabeth Parton. Connie is a survived by a brother, Lawrence "Larry" (Nancy) Brooks of Topeka, KS; sister, Eloise (Brooks) Sheets of Seattle, WA and a brother-in-law Gene Runyon of Rogers Arkansas.

She is preceded in death by her parents and a sister, JoB (Brooks) Runyon.

Funeral Service: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. in First Lutheran Church - Minot.
Interment will follow in Rosehill Memorial Park - Minot.
Visitation: Tuesday from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. in Thomas Family Funeral Home - Minot.
Memorials are preferred to the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery perpetual care fund or the First Lutheran Church music fund.