Margaret Miller

Margaret Jeanette Miller, 89, passed away December 12, 2020, after a short illness. Visitation will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, December 19, 2020, at Upper Deer Creek Mennonite Church, Kalona, Iowa. Due to COVID, masks will be required. Family will not be present. A Celebration of Life service will be held at Upper Deer Creek Mennonite Church at 11:30 a.m. on December19, 2020. Masks will be required. The service will be Livestreamed at the Beatty Peterseim Facebook Page. A private family graveside service will be held at a later date.

Margaret was born in rural Wellman, Iowa, on September 20, 1931, to Raymond G. Miller and Nettie C. Bender Miller. She lived virtually her entire life in the Kalona area, working at Strickler’s grocery store during high school, then graduating from Iowa Mennonite School (now Hillcrest Academy) in 1949. Margaret was a member of Upper Deer Creek Mennonite Church. After twelve years of working and doing weekend mission work in Hibbing, Minnesota, Margaret returned to Kalona and began a 40-year career at Farmers Savings Bank. It was during this time she also began her lifetime of service to her beloved Kalona and broader community. She could be found volunteering throughout the year at the Kalona Historical Village for which she recently retired from the board of directors after serving 38 years as the board’s treasurer. Margaret was also the treasurer of the Iowa Mennonite Relief Sale for many years. She was a past member of the board at Pleasantview Home. Margaret has been a longtime volunteer at the Kalona Chamber of Commerce, worked at the Kalona Sale Barn for horse sales, and she enjoyed working and volunteering at the Crowded Closet in Iowa City for many, many years. An alumnus of Iowa Mennonite School, Margaret was forever a supporter of the school and its students and could often be seen in the bleachers or on the sidelines cheering on the teams or in the audience enjoying events, always knowing students and staff by name. Although Margaret loved Kalona and the wider community, she loved God, her faith, and her family the most. She always remembered our birthdays and anniversaries and celebrated new births, holidays, and successes with us. She supported us and attended many games, concerts, performances, and graduations. Margaret was a great and dedicated organizer of the Miller family reunions, gathering families from near and far away to reconnect and fellowship together. She loved being involved in our lives, and we were always blessed and amazed at this wonderful loving, giving, and always active sister, sister-in-law, aunt, and cousin.

Margaret is survived by her sister Barbara Longoria (Greenwood, Indiana), brother Don (Isy) Miller (Elkhart, Indiana), brother Arden (Pat) Miller (Coralville, Iowa), and many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, cousins, and dear friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, a sister Treva Tenner, two nephews, a niece, and two great-nieces.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the Kalona Historical Village Society, Hillcrest Academy, or the Crowded Closet.