January 24, 1944 – January 5, 2022
Donald Miller, 77 of Salome, AZ passed away on January 5, 2022 in Parker, AZ. Graveside services will be held on Saturday, June 25, 2022 at the Dupree Cemetery in Dupree.
Donald Dean Miller was born on January 24, 1944 in Dupree to Lewis (Cully) and Margaret Miller. Donnie grew up south of Dupree and attended grade school at White Swan School which was located near their home. Then, Donnie attended Dupree High School, graduating in 1961. He joined the Navy so he could see the world. He was blind in one eye but he memorized the eye chart so he could pass the eye test to get in. It only took a few days for them to figure out that he could not see out of the one eye and his Navy career was over.
Donnie took a trip west with a friend to Montana, Idaho, and Washington. He then returned to Dupree and worked in the area but decided to move west the next spring. He worked on dams in Montana and Washington, even working alongside his brothers Bob and Jerry on the Boundary Dam in Washington. He met Stella Campbell and they married on October 25, 1966.
Jeffery Dean was born November 3, 1968, while they were living in Libby, MT. Donnie learned to play the guitar and started singing. He then formed the Donnie Miller Band and started his career in the music business. Donnie and Stella bought a place in Post Falls, ID and continued to make music together. His second son, Brian Cully, was born September 21, 1971. Stella was killed in a car accident May 5, 1976. Donnie and the boys continued to live in Post Falls and Bonte joined the family in 1978. Donnie enjoyed taking the kids on hiking trips and camping in the mountains.
Donnie started going to Arizona and playing music there in the winter. He eventually moved there full time. He played music and did karaoke at the Yacht Club in Quartzsite from 1991 until the time of his death.
Donnie was good at just about everything he did. He could do carpenter work and spent many years building a house on the place in Post Falls and was in the process of building one in Arizona. He could do mechanic work. He liked to take pictures and has a vast collection of slides, pictures, and videos of the family through the years. He was also an artist, painting anything from mountain scenes to dessert sunsets.
Donnie was preceded in death by his parents Lewis (Cully) and Margaret Miller; wife, Stella Miller; infant daughter Jacquelin Miller; siblings, Inez Miller, Robert “Bob” Miller, Gerald “Jerry” Miller, and Margaret “Maggie” Laurenz; and brothers-in-law Dale Eberhard and Frank Laurenz.
Donnie is survived by his sons Jeffrey Miller and Brian (Tami) Miller of Seattle, WA; step-daughter Bonte (Steve) Nemec of Coeur d’Alene, ID; grandsons, Caden and Tyler Miller of Seattle; granddaughter, Aubrey Schroeder, Coeur d’Alene, ID; siblings, Lewie (Colleen) Miller of Athol, ID, Liz Eberhard of Rapid City and Jean Jean (Clint) Farlee of Dupree.