Everyone here at Cowsmo extends our deepest sympathy to the friends and family of Kaye.
Kathleen “Kaye” Miller, age 89, of Orangeville, Illinois, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family on Saturday, April 6, 2024. She was born Kathleen Bertha Miltimore in Sweetsburg, Quebec, Canada on January 23, 1935, to Walter and Evelyn (Wright) Miltimore.
Kaye’s family started the Miltimore Telephone Company in Iron Hill, Quebec. The men in the family installed the lines and equipment, and Kaye and her four sisters, along with their grandmother, ran the switchboard in the family home. At age 16, she went to work at Sweetsburg Hospital. When the hospital installed its first switchboard in 1951, Kaye trained the staff on how to operate it. Later in life, she retained her gift for memorizing numbers and was often referred to as a “walking telephone book.”
She met her high school sweetheart, Bob, (Robert Charles Miller of Brome Centre, Quebec) at a church social, where he was impressed with her softball skills. They were married on October 12, 1954, in Sweetsburg (now Cowansville), Quebec. Bob was recruited to be the herd manager at Ravenglen Farm in Antioch, Illinois in 1956. So, Kaye and daughter Wendy traveled by train to her new home in the U.S. on her 21st birthday. Son Craig was born less than three weeks later.
Kaye and her husband started their family farm, Mil-R-Mor, in 1962 in the Huntley/Dundee, Illinois area, where they thrived for nearly 50 years. In 2006, they relocated the farm and family to Orangeville, Illinois. Kaye was the backbone of her husband’s farming career. Together, they raised registered Holstein dairy cattle. Bob gives Kaye credit for encouraging him to buy a cow named C Glenridge Citation Roxy in 1974. Roxy would later go on to be one of the most famous cows around the globe, being named International Cow of the Century and Queen of the Breed.
Kaye loved traveling, often to see family back in Canada, or to various Holstein events with Bob and the family. She was an expert at canning and preserving produce to feed her family. Once during a local milk strike to protest low prices, she made over 500 pounds of butter while others poured their milk on the fields.
Throughout Kaye and Bob’s life, they enjoyed dancing and music. As teenagers, they attended many dances at the Brome Pond Dance Hall. Most recently, they enjoyed dancing at Turner Hall and the Best Dam Bar two or three times each week. Kaye loved playing cards and always made time for a round of pinochle or 500 with family and friends. She cherished family time, especially the hours spent with her 16 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.
Kaye was a mother to many more than she bore, treating them all as her own. She touched so many lives, teaching us all about love, life, and especially being kind. Her actions exemplified the importance of pitching in and being helpful to others. She treated everyone she met like family.
Kathleen is survived by her husband and partner in life, Robert; five children: Wendy (Ardishir) Rashidi, Marshall Craig (Beverly) Miller, Madeline (Stephen) Schultz, Crystal (John) Sheehan and Kathryn Miller; grandchildren: Aryan Rashidi, Arjang (Mackenzie) Rashidi, Charles (Jennifer) Schultz, David (Amy) Schultz, Lorilee Schultz, Kelly (Robert) Foerder, Peter (Katelyn) Schultz, Arisa (Eric) Conwell, John “Jay” (Jessica) Sheehan, Mark (Kegan) Schultz, Atisa (Dylan) Rashidi, Sarah (Adam) Roth, Ryan Sheehan, Brianna Sheehan, Kaylen Miller, and Emily Sheehan; and great-grandchildren: Ashlynn Schultz, Jaxson Rashidi, Sawyer Rashidi, Ryder Rashidi, Blair Schultz, Reid Foerder, John “Jack” Sheehan, Brantley Schultz, Cora Schultz, Elsie Foerder, Fynlie Rashidi, Evelynn Sheehan, Braelynn Schultz, Henry Sheehan, Harvey Roth, Quinn Conwell, Averly Rashidi, Magnus Sheehan, Adeline Foerder, Charles Roth, Lucy (Schultz) Fahr, Luke Schultz, Adalyn Conwell, and little Levi Schultz. Kaye is survived by her dear sister Barbara Miltimore, as well as many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her daughter, Deborah, on October 25, 1964, who died in a farming accident; her parents; an infant brother, Richard; and three sisters: Grace, Shirley, and Norma.
A visitation will take place from 2:00-7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, 2024, at the United Methodist Church in Orangeville, Illinois.
A funeral service will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 12, 2024, at the United Methodist Church in Orangeville, Illinois, with a visitation prior to the service from 10:00-11:00 a.m. Interment will take place at Sunset Acres Cemetery, Orangeville, Illinois. A luncheon will follow. Pastor Roger Bronkema will officiate the services.
Memorials may be made to the National Holstein Women’s Scholarship Organization, or to the United Methodist Church in Orangeville, Illinois.
Memorials may be sent to the family at the following :
Leamon Funeral Home
Attn: Kathleen Miller Family
P.O. Box 226
Lena, IL 61048
Obituary can be viewed online here.