Individual Details

Marriage

Marriage Notes for MILDRED VOIGTS and ELMER MILLER:
5-8-41

At a formal Wedding ceremony performed by Father Hugh Smith at St.
Paul's Catholic church at 9:00 o'clock this morning, Miss Mildred Voigt,
22, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Voigt of Orovada, became the bride of
Elmer Miller, 27, of Paradise valley. The young couple was united in the
presence of a few relatives and close friends.
The bride was attractively attired in the traditional white gown with a
long veil, carrying a bouquet of pink sweet peas. Mrs. Gerhard Tholen,
matron of honor and close friend of the bride, wore a navy blue ensemble
with harmonizing accessories. Lawrence Miller served as best man.
Mrs. Miller is a graduate of the Orovada grammar school and made her
home at Orovada until her marriage. Miller was graduated from the Humboldt
county high school in 1933, having attended grammar school at Paradise Valley.
The couple plan to make their home in Paradise Valley. A dinner was
served to the bridal party this afternoon at the ranch home of Mr. and Mrs.
Gerhard Miller, sr., in Paradise valley. Places were laid for the bride and
groom, Mr. and Mrs. Gerhard Miller, sr., Mr. and Mrs. George miller and
children, Paul and Hermine, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Voigt and children, Larson,
Virginia and Lois, Lawrence Miller (the rest is illegible).

>From a newspaper clipping in Grandmother Voigts, bible.

Death

Elmer Miller

Recitation of the Rosary for Elmer M. Miller, 78 of Nampa, who died Saturday, October 10, 1992 at a Nampa hospital, will be recited at 7 p.m. Monday, October 12, 1992 at the Alsip Funeral Chapel, Nampa. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the St. Paul's Catholic church at 10 a.m. Tuesday, October 13, 1992. Father Alfred Puccinelli, S.M. will celebrate. Burial will follow in the Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, Caldwell.

Elmer M. Miller was born on February 25, 1914 in Paradise Valley, Nevada to Gerhard & Marie Tholen Miller. He attended grammar school in Paradise Valley and graduated from High School in Winnemucca. He married Mildred A. Voigts on May 8, 1941 in Winnemucca. 

In 1946, they moved to San Francisco where he began to learn the trade of Bit & Spur making. He was mostly self-taught because there were no schools that taught the art of Bit & Spur making. He was fortunate in finding an old Spanish bit maker by the name of Filo Gutierrez who helped him out from time to time. He and another man by the name of Albert Tietjen learned this trade and formed the business of Miller & Tietjen Bit & Spur. In 1949, they moved to Reno where he continued his business.

In 1952, Mr. Tietjen went to the Korean War and Elmer and his family moved back to Paradise Valley where he ran the family ranch. In 1963, he moved to Nampa to continue his love of his trade by forming Miller Bit & Spur Business and School.

Elmer was widely recognized as a superior craftsman and was recently awarded the Governor's Award for the Arts on September 26, 1992. 

Elmer was a member of the St. Paul's Catholic Church in Nampa. 

He is survived by: his wife, Mildred of Nampa; four daughters and sons-in-law, Gladys & Dwane Ford, Jeannette & Mike Avera, Frances & Edmund Mason and Trina & Gary Weber, all of Nampa; a son, Jim Miller of Dixie, Idaho; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. 

He was preceded in death by his parents and four brothers. Friends may call at the Alsip Funeral Chapel today until 9 p.m. and on Monday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Source: The Idaho Press Tribune, October, 1992