Ursula Miller, daughter of Noah E. Miller and Sophronia (Hummel) Miller was born November 5, 1882 in Holmes county, Ohio, near Millersburg, and departed this life at the Comanche County Hospital March 10, 1972 at the age of 89 years after an illness of two weeks.

She was first-born in a family of 14 children. Her parents were always farmers and moved a number of times, living in Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The family's last farm residence was at Protection, Kansas.

Ursula was baptized and united with the Mennonite church and was a loyal and contributing member. She attended school at Goshen Academy, the Oklahoma Normal Institute at Alva, Okla., and McPherson College in Kansas. She taught school a number of years. She did an extensive amount of writing of both poems and stories, many of which were published in Mennonite church papers.

She married Sylvanus Enos Miller, son of Joseph C. and Barbara E. Miller, on June 16, 1907 at Jet, Okla. They sojourned life together for over 64 years. S. Enos preceded his wife in death four months. During their marriage they spent many years on their farm south of Protection. They moved to Hesston, Kans., in 1920 where S. Enos served as a faculty member at Hesston College for 11 years. In 1931 they returned to their farm south of Protection and remained there until 1946 when they retired and moved to Protection.

Two children were born to them, Lahla Ursula, Mrs. Truman Selzer of Protection and Sanford E. of Topeka, Kans. Other survivors are eight grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Two sisters and four brothers preceded her in death.

Those surviving are Mrs. Christina Miller Garber of Hesston, Alf B. Miller, Inman, D. D. Miller, Goshen, Ind., Noah Tuckson Miller, Pryor, Okla., Billie D. Miller of Hesston, Levi Miller, Strasburg, Colo., and Harold Miller of Pryor, Okla.

Mrs. Miller had many interest in life and maintained a youthful spirit. She read extensively and sought after righteousness, integrity, and justice. Her open Bible was a symbol of her relation with God.

The following poem was written many years ago by Mrs. Miller who had been a Western Star correspondent for 50 years.

Sometime the silent messenger will come
When I'm a little tireder,
And life's a little heavier
His silvery, silent hand will beckon home.
Sometime when days are sweetly smiling
Through a glorious rift of blue sky
Unbidden and without a sigh,
triumphant, death will come beguiling.

My spirit will respond with longing, yearning -
Unremembered all my earth days
My pilgrimage in lonely byways
I hastened down the road of unreturning.
I am no more a body, windswept, broke.
Somewhere I'll praise the Holy Christ
The One whom heaven sacrificed,
When death has come into my house, and spoken.

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Also see:

Sylvanus Enos Miller, husband of Ursula Miller.

Mennonites In Comanche County, Kansas by Ursula Miller, 1948.

Protection Mennonite Church by Orlin Loucks, 1997.

Mennonite Cemetery, Comanche County, Kansas.

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Thanks to Shirley Brier for finding, transcribing and contributing the above news article to this web site!