The Celebration of Life and Going Home for Faith Louise Miller, 90 years old, of Mud Butte, SD will be held at 10 am on Friday, October 17, 2025 at the Prairie Home Church, Maurine, SD with Pastor Clay Conry officiating. A time of visiting will also take place on Thursday, October 16, at Connection Church in Belle Fourche from 4-7 pm.  Faith passed away Saturday, October 4 at Heartland Senior Living in Spearfish where she spent 5 short weeks, visited by so many families and friends, following a great summer at the ranch.

Faith Louise Vig was born the oldest of five children (Faith, Merle, Hope, Rose, Dwayne) at Faith, SD on December 4, 1934, to Cecil and Edith Vig of Opal, SD during the Great Depression.  She lived on Horse Creek and attended Vig School on her family's ranch.  Faith spent her summers riding the dump rake, mowing in the hayfields, and riding horse to check cattle.

Faith graduated from Faith High School in 1953.  She attended Spearfish Normal School (now Black Hills State University) and received a SD Teaching Certificate after 9 months. In 1954 Faith taught 2 years at Tama School, located in the Opal area, and then she taught one year at Fox Ridge School (between Willard Haines and Dan Woods places).  She quit teaching when her family started.

Faith met and married Ronald Lewis Miller at the Prairie Home Church on August 20, 1955. Their first date was an ice-skating party.   They had a simple wedding, and the one big memory was that the preacher's boys painted Ronald's new dark green chevy pickup with white house paint.

Faith and Ronald started marriage in a sheep wagon parked in the pasture north of their present home place. Then they bought an 8 by 28-foot trailer house "and that was to the hitch," Faith always emphasized. They had no running water, electricity, nor telephone.  To this union were born seven children over 16 years.  In 1963 Ronald and Faith bought the Fritz Kentsler place north of the Ben Ash Monument, where they lived their entire lives. They moved to the bigger house after four children.

Faith spent many years feeding and washing clothes for family and many hired men. She helped with many ranching jobs. She raised 100 plus bum lambs each year and milked the cow in addition to raising chickens.  They butchered all their own meat, and she raised a big garden.  Faith loved her flowers and learned to grow beautiful moss roses and marigolds in the dry gumbo. She hauled many school trips. Faith was an impeccable seamstress, staying up late at night to sew clothes for her family.

Faith loved to ice skate and continued to do so well into her 80's.  She enjoyed cross-country skiing and learned to downhill ski in her older years. Grandma Faith was a grandma for 45 years, and she loved to attend and, and even participate, in grandchildren events, including rodeos, sports, church and school programs, holidays, and the list goes on.

Faith and Ronald loved their family greatly and enjoyed visits any time from kids, grandkids, neighbors, and friends.  They took their family to Prairie Home Church almost every Sunday and were instrumental in the founding of Cedar Canyon Bible Camp.

Faith enjoyed traveling, and in older years was able to take trips to Florida and Alaska to see her sisters; Norway to see Vig ancestry; and small trips with her girls. She even rode a bicycle across the Golden Gate Bridge (8 miles) at 80 years old.

Ronald went to Heaven in 2019, and Faith started spending her cold winters in Belle Fourche and nice summers at the ranch.    She spent her days in town sewing quilts and her days at the ranch mowing the big yard and keeping up the garden. She earned the title of Grandma Boone because she trapped many coons in her livetrap with marshmallows.  She also really enjoyed attending her ladies' bible study with ladies from the entire community of all ages.

Surviving Faith are her seven children—Renee and Bob Bachman; Sandra and David Holland; Laura and Donnie Kissack; Harold and Lori (Keil) Miller; Lynn and Nancy (Talley) Miller; Sally and Witt Crowser; and Ronda and Sanford Deal; 23 grandchildren—give or take a couple with marriages and extras; and 50ish great-grandchildren—hard to keep track; sister Rose Tysdal; and sisters-in-law Zona Vig and Adelia Vig.  Faith had numerous nieces and nephews.

Faith was preceded in death by her husband, of 64 years, Ronald in 2019; great-granddaughter Taisley Faith Lewis; her parents Cecil and Edith Vig;  her in-laws Arnt and Cora Miller; her brothers Merle Vig and Dwayne Vig; her sister Hope Vig; her brothers and sisters-in-law  Tony Tysdal; Albert and Mazy Weiss; Shirley and Erma Miller; Earl, Doris, and Joyce Miller; and niece Della Rae Mickelson.

Faith took her last big, and most important trip, to Heaven on October 4, 2025.  Memorials have been established for Prairie Home Church and Monument Hill Cemetery.  Our family invites you to eat lunch with us and visit at the church after the burial at Monument Hill Cemetery.     Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

Link to video:  https://youtu.be/1gnb98wQZ50?si=SDLIEsbrNtmDLYVW

Faith Miller Folder