Patricia Lee Miller

Patricia ‘Pat’ Lee Miller
(June 12, 1944 - March 21, 2015)

Patricia “Pat” Lee Miller died on March 21, 2015, in Powell. She was born at home to Fred Sliter and Ruby (McGee) Sliter in Plumer, Pennsylvania on June 12, 1944. She was the oldest of three children and joined the Air Force soon after turning 18 in October 1962. After completing basic training she was stationed at Otis Air Force Base in Cape Cod, MA.  She was a member of the 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing and part of the Headquarters Administration in Base Procurement.
While there, she met Hill “Dick” Miller. Pat and Dick were married Nov. 28, 1964 on Cape Cod.
Soon after, Dick was sent to Vietnam and Pat was discharged from the Air Force. She went to stay with her parents to await the birth of their first child, Richard “Rick.” When Rick was just 9 months old she loaded up her car and headed west. Dick was due to come home, and she came to Wyoming to set up a home for him to return to. A daughter, Karalee, was born several years later.
Pat was a stay at home mom for both Rick and Kara for many years, but she was involved in many different things. She sold Artex, Tupperware, was a Girl Scout leader, and a leading member of many clubs throughout her life. She started at the Powell Branch Library as a volunteer shelving books, and became an Adult Services Librarian in May of 1990. She worked there until her retirement in May of 2007. She loved books, knowledge, research, and genealogy. She was a member of the Genealogy club, the Friends of the Powell Branch Library, TOPS, a founding member of the High Country Classics and 4Cs car clubs, and was very active in the American Legion. She was the Commander of the American Legion Post #26 in Powell from 2001-2005 and was still serving as adjutant at the time of her death. For 11 years she volunteered as a dispatcher and driver for the DAV and drove 2,670 hours for Wyoming and 1,946 hours for Montana assisting veterans with rides for medical care in both states.
In the spring of 2012, Pat was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was a survivor and began a crusade to raise awareness of all kinds of cancer. She became very active in the Park County Relay for Life and started her relay team, Pat’s Posse. She later renamed the team Rose’s Petals to honor a close friend that lost her battle with cancer.
Although not a Powell native, Pat was made an honorary PHS graduate during the 2014 Alumni celebration. She did yearly talks with elementary school children about the Titanic and just recently finished writing and self-publishing a book “Stories of Elk Basin Oil Field of Powell, Wyoming and the People Who Called It Home.” She was still researching information to add to the book.
Pat was preceded in death by both of her parents.
She is survived by her husband Hill “Dick” Miller; two children, Richard “Rick” Miller (Pam) and Karalee (Terry) Warren; grandchildren Moriah Miller and Wesson Warren; three step-grandchildren; four step-great grandchildren; brother Fred “Shorty” Sliter, sister Gail “Jo” (Matthew) Sullivan of PA; niece Sara Sullivan of Pennsylvania and many more extended family in Pennsylvania.
Services will be held at the Park County Fairgrounds in Powell on Friday, April 3, at 4 p.m. A celebration of life will follow at the American Legion in Powell.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the cancer research organization of your choice.  There is also a donation account set up at Wells Fargo as the Patricia Miller Memorial Fund. Donations to that account will be divided between Pat’s Park County Relay for Life team and the Casting for Recovery organization in Wyoming.
Thompson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.