Evelyn Pauline Miller

Evelyn was born February 9, 1937, in Fremont, Nebraska, the daughter of Frank and Vera Florene (Sutton) Tomes. She was the second of five children. She was baptized into the Methodist church. While in school, Evelyn worked full time as a waitress. After graduating from Fremont High School in 1955, she continued to work as a waitress. While at work, Evelyn met a truck driver from South Dakota named Milo.

Evelyn married Milo Christian Miller on April 14, 1956. This union was blessed with four daughters: Myla, Deborah, Patricia, and Rebecca. When Myla and Debbie were baptized at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Evelyn was confirmed into membership of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod by Pastor Pardieck.

During the early years of their marriage, Evelyn was a full-time wife and mother. She made her daughters’ clothes, gardened, canned the produce, and was involved in her daughters’ school and church activities. She and Milo also enjoyed square dancing together for many years. In the mid-1970s, Evelyn began working for the Clay County Election Board. She was part time at first, taking voter registrations at local grocery stores and malls. She then became a full- time clerk in the office and later moved on the be the Democrat Director of Elections. During this time, and for many years after, Evelyn was very active in the local Democratic party. Evelyn was also a regular at her daughters’ school events. She served in various capacities at Holy Cross, including on the Fellowship Board and the church board of The Aid Association for Lutherans. In that capacity, Evelyn organized day and overnight trips for members of AAL. As AAL changed to Thrivent and the structure of the organization within the church changed, Evelyn continued to organize trips for her fellow church members for many years. The group called themselves the Fun Time Travelers.

As the years went by, Evelyn and Milo welcomed grandchildren into the family. As Debbie was pregnant with her first child, Evelyn proclaimed that she was too young to be a grandmother, and the child would call her Evelyn. Upon her first sight of Brianna through the window of the nursery, she exclaimed, “There’s grandma’s girl,” and a special bond was formed. Evelyn happily added Grandma as one of her life’s roles. Other grandchildren followed: Debbie added Kaeli and Garett to her family. Daughter Patti married Steven Smith and to this union Stetson and Sage were born.

Around the time that her friends were becoming empty nesters, Evelyn undertook the care of her granddaughter Brianna, who remained with her until she graduated high school. She continued to work and be active in the church and local politics. As many of her friends were retiring, Evelyn continued to work full-time, be active in the church, and take care of Milo, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's. Through sheer determination, and the help of her daughters, Evelyn was able to keep Milo at home until his passing at age 90 in April 2010. Evelyn retired from the Clay County Assessor’s Office later that year, having worked until the age of 73.

In addition to her family, church, and political activities, Evelyn greatly enjoyed traveling. She would regularly drive to Nebraska, South Dakota, and Colorado to visit with family, or to south Missouri to visit friends Frank and Rose Purvis. She loved going to National Parks and she really loved going to any body of water to explore Lighthouses. She frequently brought her granddaughters along on her trips. She continued to drive herself to visit relatives well into her eighties.

Evelyn was the center of our family and the glue that holds us together. She had strong work ethic and was not afraid to take on new challenges. If she saw something that needed to be done, she did it. When life threw her a curveball, she believed in getting on with things and not wallowing in negative emotion. She had definite beliefs on right and wrong, and she let you know if you ran afoul of those beliefs. She always aided family members who needed help, usually while offering her unfiltered opinion on how you should be living your life and what you were doing wrong. But most of all, she loved her family and found great joy in being with them. We are so grateful that our Mom and Grandma continued to be her loving and bossy self until the end.

In the spirit of Evelyn’s willingness to offer her (unsolicited) two cents, we’d like to share some of the words that Mom lived by:

• Either lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.

• Don’t borrow worry from tomorrow.

• You are only as happy as you make your mind up to be.

• You’re just going to have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

Evelyn is preceded in death by her husband Milo Miller; daughter, Deborah Holquin; her parents, Frank and Vera Florene Tomes, brothers John Tomes and Rick Tomes; niece Michelle Tomes; brother-in-law, Herley Miller; sister-in-law, Stella Colwell; and brother-in-law, Dean Colwell.

Evelyn is survived by daughters, Myla Miller of Kansas City, Patricia Smith and husband, Steven of Kearney, Missouri, and Rebecca Miller of Independence, Missouri; grandchildren, Brianna Green, Kaeli Mercado, Garett Green and wife Amber Green, Stetson Smith, and Sage Senne and husband Michael Senne; great grandchildren, Blayz Green, Raynei Olsson, Lynck Gardner, Mylo Gardner, Charles Starr, Kaelianne Starr, Cain Stine, Thurlan Stewart, Addy Garza-Green, Grace Green, Claire Green, and Lucy Green; and great-great-grandchildren, Aydin Green and Benjamin Green. She is also survived by her sister, Ann Slegl; brother, Frank Tomes and his wife Sonia Tomes; sister-in-law, Julie Tomes; and sister-in-law, Charlotte Miller. She had many nieces and nephews of whom she was very fond. She in particular enjoyed phone calls and visits from her beloved niece, Karen Sparks.

Visitation for Evelyn will be on Friday, March 7, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 2003 NE Englewood Rd, Kansas City, Missouri, 64118, with funeral services at 11:00 AM, and interment in the White Chapel Cemetery, 6600 NE Antioch Road, Gladstone, Missouri, 64119.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions be made to Holy Cross Lutheran Church Organ Fund.