Faye D Miller

Faye Delores Bennett was born to Juanita and Calvin Bennett in Sparks, OK on April 24, 1931.  She was the second of 5 children and the only girl born into the family.  Her older brother was Charles, and her younger brothers were Kenny, Vernon and D-Ray.  Faye loved to play with the boys and be involved in everything on her father’s farm.  The only reported problem occurred when she was teasing her brother, Vernon, by wiggling her behind at him.  He then swung a baseball bat and accidentally hit her, breaking her ankle! Faye and her brothers grew up during the Depression.  They eventually had to leave the farm while Calvin tried to find work in various towns in Oklahoma.  Their mother eventually took them to live in Cedar Vale, KS where they had a wonderful time as older kids going to high school. Juanita worked at Herb’s Diner where she cooked delicious hamburgers, chili and cream puffs. Faye and her brothers had tons of friends and enjoyed sleepovers, school activities, the fountain at the local drug store and the movie theatre.  She always remarked that the lady that owned the theater brought the bet movies and a lot of culture to the little town of Cedar Vale.  Faye played basketball in high school, but you would never have known that unless she told you because she displayed no athletic ability later in life!

After high school, Faye became engaged to a local veterinarian.  Later, she told her mom that she did not want to get married and her mom immediately told her to break that engagement!  Faye went to Manhattan, KS to work and live with a friend instead.  While living in Manhattan, she met Donnie Miller on October 14, 1950. He was attending school, but also farming in the Limon area.  The studying became a little tedious since Donnie was going back and forth to Colorado to farm.  After returning to KSU for dances and fun with Faye and friends, Donnie told Faye that she had to set a wedding date.  They married on October 14, 1951, and moved to Limon where Donnie built a new house with a big kitchen, sized according to Faye’s specifications.  They had two daughters, Terri Ann and Shara Lyn. 

Faye decided to go to work to pass the time when Terri and Shara started junior high.  She worked for Mac McCarthy, was a hostess at the Korner Kitchen and finally made a career for herself as the Customer Service Manager for Mountain View Electric.

Even though home and family were the most important things to Faye, she and Donnie spent many years eating Friday night dinners out, traveling and taking cruises with their friends:  the Thompsons, the Morrisons, the Pearsons, and the Raines’s.  She was active in Eastern Star as a Worthy Matron and became a Mother Advisor in Rainbow.  She even taught Sunday school at the Methodist church in the 60’s and 70’s.

Faye’s only granddaughter, Donnelly was born April 29, 1998.  She was named Donnelly Faye after her grandparents.  Faye was a big part of Donnelly’s life, attending all of the school events that she could and going to visit her in Arizona and Texas whenever possible.

Faye lived a full and wonderful life, and certainly had her own opinions on everything.  So much so that Don Morrison used to call her a “militant feminist!”  She left this Earth the morning of April 6, 2019, to be with Donnie and all of her loved ones who had gone before.  She was preceded in death by her parents, all of her brothers, and her sister-in-law, Jan.  She is survived by her two daughters, Terri and Shara, her granddaughter, Donnelly, son-in-law Zeke, sisters-in-law, Carol Bennett, Connie Bennett, Barb Bennett, Mae Bennett and numerous nieces and nephews.  Everyone who knew her, loved her sweet and warm-hearted nature.  She was loved so much by her family and will be missed by them, and all who knew her.