Vello “Butch” Miller

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.