Vello “Butch” Miller
May 26, 1937-Jan. 14, 2021
Vello “Butch” Miller,
83, of Garrison passed
away on Thursday, Janu-
ary 14, 2021 at the
Benedictine Living Center
in Garrison.
Butch was born May 26,
1937 in Milwaukee, WI to
Vello “Jack” and Mary
(Machok) Miller. He was
the second eldest of five
children. In the following
years, the family spent
one year in Sandstone,
Minn. and five years in
Rockford, IL. In 1950, the
family packed up and
headed for North Dakota
where they would settle
on a farmstead near Ruso.
On April 23, 1961,
Butch married Adriene
Sundbakken. While mar-
ried, they had four
daughters; Cheryl, Bren-
da, Vickie and Traci.
Butch cherished his
daughters and was so ex-
cited when grandchildren
began to arrive. He im-
mensely enjoyed spend-
ing time with and spoiling
all of them.
Butch was a hard work-
er. For many years, he
worked as a foreman for
Warner Construction in
Minot doing carpentry
and concrete. Upon the
death of his father in
1964, he took over the
family farm near Ruso.
Butch worked hard to
continue farming the land
and having a successful
cattle operation, like his
father before him. Butch
ran the farm until his re-
tirement in 2006.
After retirement, Butch
sold the farm and moved
to Lake Audubon. His lake
place was his pride and
joy and a perfect fit for his
outdoorsman lifestyle. He
could always be found
fishing with his beloved
little dog, Dixie. If Butch
and Dixie weren’t fishing,
they were cruising around
in his pickup, visiting
family and friends.
Butch also loved to
hunt. In his younger
years, the highlight of his
year would be heading to
Canada with his buddies
to moose hunt. Butch
loved hunting any size
game in any season.
Whether he was hunt-
ing, fishing, camping, sit-
ting on his deck or doing
things like mowing the
lawn or hand-washing his
pickup, Butch could al-
ways be found outdoors.
Along with every
memory, Butch will live
on through his many
stories. He always told the
best stories. The family
would gather around at
every get together to hear
about all the crazy things
he did in the good old
days. He was pretty proud
of the time he drove Miss
North Dakota in his red
convertible in the North
Dakota State Parade. He
also told many stories of
boxing, which he learned
from his dad and Uncle
Matt, who were both Gol-
den Gloves boxers.
Butch, in his younger
years, was a notorious
tough guy. One of his
famous “bar tricks” was
heading outside and pick-
ing up the back end of a
vehicle, tires off the
ground, to show his
strength. He never took
any grief from anyone,
even into his older years.
Although tough and
hard-working, Butch was
a loving man, who could
make anyone laugh. His
personality and attitude
were one-of-a-kind and he
will be missed dearly.
Butch is survived by:
his four daughters, Cheryl
(Brent) Kittleson, Brenda
(Willie) Miller/Martinez,
Vickie (Tony) Miller, Tra-
ci (Ken) Adam; Nine
grandchildren, Rachael
(Brandt) Renaud, Makayla
(David) Rime, Shane Kit-
tleson, Alyssa (Josh)
Adam, Kyndra (Westin)
Adam, Jessica Wood,
Lasen Aasand, Lane
Aasand; Five-and-a-half
great-grandchildren, Lo-
gan Countryman, Alanah
Renaud, Kaylaynn
Heldstab, Nevaeh Wood,
Ozzie Raethz and Baby
Rime coming soon.
Butch was preceded in
death by his parents, sis-
ter, Darlene, brothers;
Don, Dale and Terry, and
grandson, Blaine Kittle-
son.
There will be a celebra-tion of his life held at a
later date.
To sign the online regis-
ter, go to www.garrison
thompson.com.