SERVICE FOLDER -- SERVICE PHOTOS -- ELDO’S FUNERAL
Eldo T. Miller, 89, of Ashley, ND, passed away at the Ashley Medical Center on February 27, 2023, after battling cancer.
Born to Adam and Elizabeth (Becker) Miller on December 15, 1933, near Lehr, ND, Eldo was the youngest of seven children. He attended elementary school in Wishek, ND and then in Danzig, ND when the family relocated. He began high school in Ashley but due to his father’s poor health, Eldo left to work on his family farm helping his sister, Gladys, milking cows. He then continued in agriculture working on the farms of cousin Adam Harr and brother-in-law Albert Iszler, and later farmed with his brother John.
Eldo went on to serve his country in the United States Army; he was inducted November 7, 1956, and completed basic training in Little Rock, AR. After telephone communication training, Eldo was stationed at Fort Gordon in Augusta, GA. He then served in South Korea as a lineman and later was stationed at Fort Riley, KS, where his cooking group was known for making the absolute best roast beef. He was honorably discharged in 1958 and returned to the Miller farmstead near Danzig, farming until 1963.
Eldo married Caroline Sayler July 2, 1961, at the Venturia Baptist Church. In 1963, they moved to Ashley, where Eldo continued to grain farm; this same year, after purchasing a gravel truck, he began working for the Ehley & Frisch Gravel Company. In 1966, he operated a caterpillar, pushing gravel for the company until 1972. Eldo also worked at the Ashley Livestock Exchange and Delzer’s Standard Service Station.
In 1973, Eldo started his own custom harvesting business ‘Miller Harvesting’. His small grain harvest took him and his crew to Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, South and North Dakota to the Canadian border. He returned to Kansas every fall for the corn and milo harvest. Eldo retired after 32 years and in March 2005 had a public auction.
In retirement he enjoyed his grandchildren’s activities, vacations, concerts, gardening, pickling and canning, their ranch (until cattle were sold in 2015), and worked as parts runner for both his South Dakota grandsons and G & G Implement. He liked to bowl and play pool as well as table games and card games. Especially exciting for Eldo was playing the number game while at the local restaurant with his coffee buddies, catching up on new stories and the retelling of old. Watching Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Westerns, spiritual church services, and sports was his way of relaxing. He also found pleasure in horses, viewing sunsets, and observing purple martins. Eldo had the privilege of being a veteran selected by the ND/MN Honor Flight in 2019 to see Washington, DC, and was accompanied by daughter Kelva. He was a woodworker in earlier years and always a handyman. In 2020 he rebuilt the deck on their home and just last year installed a handrail in the breezeway.
He was a member of the Ashley Jaycees, US Custom Harvesters, Inc., and the Frank Piper American Legion Post #53 in Ashley for 55 years. Eldo was also a member of the Venturia and Ashley Baptist Churches, was baptized in August 1972, and served on the finance committee and as an usher.
Grateful for having shared Eldo’s life are his wife, Caroline for 61 years; daughters Kelva (Floyd) Helfenstein, Ashley, ND and Lynelle Miller, Fargo, ND. Grandchildren Ethan (Kennedy) Helfenstein, Ashley, ND; Skylar Helfenstein, Ashley, ND; Sienna Mayer, Sioux Falls, SD; Jansen Mayer and Emma Mayer both of Warwick, RI. Great-grandchildren Fred, Sylvia, and Ila Helfenstein, and another due in August. His sister, June (Buchholz) Schauer, Jamestown, ND; sisters-in-law Darlene Sayler, Ashley, ND, LaVonne Sayler, Bennett, CO, Pearl Sayler, Aurora, CO; in-laws, Evangeline and Dennis Brenna, Sun City, AZ; and numerous nephews and nieces.
Eldo was preceded in death by his father, Adam, on May 7, 1963; his mother, Elizabeth on March 2, 1981; siblings Martha (Allis) Denning, Hulda (Guenther) Pfeifle, Adeline (Albert) Iszler, Gladys (Elmer) Bauer, John Miller, and brothers-in-law Gilbert Buchholz and Milton Schauer; nephews James Pfeifle, Murray Bertsch, and Jesse Denning and niece Julia Senior.
Eldo’s funeral will be livestreamed at the Lien Family Funeral Care Facebook page and be available Sunday night at this website.
Visitation will be at Carlsen-Lien Chapel, Ashley, from 5:00-7:00 PM Thursday.
Funeral services to celebrate Eldo’s life will be held 10:30 AM, Friday, March 3, 2023 at the Venturia Baptist Church led by Pastor Vernon Dalstein. Interment follows at the Ashley City Cemetery with military graveside rites by the Ashley Legion Post. Pianist will be Pam Schnabel and the congregation will sing “My Country Tis of Thee”. Sandy Hammarsten will be soloist, singing “Praise the Lord, I Saw the Light” and ushers will be Dale Hammarsten and Joel Bertsch. Recorded vocals will be “Grandpa”, “The Old Man Said”, and “I Don’t Deserve a Mansion”. There will be an opportunity for open mic during the service for people to share memories of Eldo.
Honorary bearers will be Ronald Baumgartner, Delbert Buchholz, Raymond Goehring, James Delzer, Don Kosel, and Paul Gall.
Casketbearers will be Eldo’s grandchildren—Ethan, Skylar, Sienna, Jansen, and Emma; and his nephew, Michael Sayler of Ashley.
Eldo’s preference was for memorial contributions to one of the following: American Legion Post #53, 604 W. Main St., Ashley, ND 58413; Fargo VA Healthcare System, 2101 Elm St. NE, Fargo, ND 58102; Hospice of the Red River Valley, 1701 38th St. S, Fargo, ND 58103; Ashley Medical Center, 612 Center Ave N, Ashley, ND 58413.
Services are in care of Carlsen-Lien Chapel of Ashley.
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