Donald Miller, age 77 of Salome, Arizona passed away on January 5, 2022 in Parker, Arizona.  Graveside services will be held on Saturday, June 25, 2022 at 4 PM at the Dupree Cemetery in Dupree, SD.

Donald Dean Miller was born on January 24, 1944 in Dupree, SD 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.  White Swan School was a special place for Donnie and his siblings.  Many tales have been told over the years of all the great times had by the families and neighbors that went to school there.  Then, Donnie attended Dupree High School, graduating in 1961.  After graduation Donnie joined the US 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, staying with family along the way.  He then returned to Dupree and worked in the area but decided to move west the next spring.  He worked on a total of 5 dams in Montana and Washington, even working alongside his brothers Bob and Jerry on the Boundary Dam in Washington.  It was during this time that he met Stella Campbell and they married on October 25, 1966.

Jeffery Dean was born November 3, 1968, while they were still 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.   He enjoyed the kids' sporting events and even helped coach some of their teams.

Finally, Donnie got tired of the cold Idaho winters and started going south to Arizona and playing music there in the winter months.  He eventually sold the place in Post Falls and bought some property in Arizona and 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, which was a good thing as it was not unheard of for him to be in the middle of Montana working on his vehicle on his many trips to South Dakota and back.  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.  Most of all Donnie was a great entertainer and kept us all amused with his stories, which were usually based on truth, but had a lot of fiction added in.

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, Seattle, WA; Step Daughter Bonte (Steve) Nemec, Coeur d'Alene, ID; Grandsons Caden and Tyler Miller, Seattle, WA; Granddaughter, Aubrey Schroeder, Coeur d'Alene, ID; Siblings Lewie (Colleen) Miller, Athol, ID; Liz Eberhard, Rapid City, SD and Jean (Clint) Farlee, Dupree, SD.