Lila S. Miller was born September 15, 1920 at the Sidney Community Hospital to parents, Andrew F. Miller and Martha Nielsen Miller. She attended Sidney Schools, graduating from Sidney High School with the Class of 1938. After graduation she worked as a Sales Clerk at various stores in Sidney, including Finnicum’s Jewelry, Sobolik’s Clothing Store and the Sidney and Turner Drug Stores. She is perhaps best remembered for her tenure at the Lalonde Hotel as Desk Clerk when that hotel was a Sidney landmark. Lila retired from hotel duties in 1988 and took up hobbies and family interests.
Lila was a self-taught musician who played piano and ukulele for her enjoyment and for the fortunate few who were present when she took either of them up. She also could play the accordion, the mainstay instrument of her mother, Martha.
In her younger days, Lila created beautiful embroidered pieces that merited display at the Richland County Fair. She was an excellent baker and her cookies at Christmas time were welcomed by family and friends as she distributed them about town.
Lila was a lifetime member of Pella Lutheran Church. Like her brother, Andrew, she too sang in the Senior Choir. She taught Sunday School over the years and also gave of her time to children who attended Daily Vacation Bible School at Pella.
Lila was a resident at Sidney Health Center-Extended Care from December 2008 to the present. She quietly passed away on May 5, 2017.
Lila is preceded in death by her parents, Andrew and Martha Miller, her nephew Daniel Miller and a niece, Sheila Hanson. She is survived by her sisters Adeline (Lon) Farrar of Lynnwood, WA and Iona Hansen of Sidney. Two favorite nieces also survive – Linda (Thomas) Dufresne of Lake Oswego, OR and Mary Lee Miller (Bill Walsh) of Missoula, MT as do nephews, Scott Miller of Winter Park, FL, and Bruce, Roger, Steven, Duane and Mark Farrar, all of Washington state.
A special and sincere thank you to Dr. Karanjai and all the staff at Sidney Health Center-Extended Care Facility for all their attentive and loving care over the years. All of them are so very much appreciated.