Cliffton R. Miller

Cliff Miller, 90, well known Shields River and Clyde Park area farmer and rancher, passed away Sunday, September 8th, 2013 of congestive heart failure. Memorial Funeral Service will be held Friday, September 13, 2 PM at Shields Valley United Methodist Church, Clyde Park. Viewing will be available Thursday at Franzen-Davis Funeral Home from Noon-8:00PM. Interment will be at Clyde Park Cemetery. Fellowship will follow the interment at Clyde Park Community Center. Cliff was born June 8, 1923 to Violet and Gorm Miller, in Clyde Park. He was fifth in line of six Miller children. Cliff was not a student so in the 5th grade his father Gorm suggested he just quit school since he wasn't learning much anyway. That was the beginning of a very long and interesting farm and ranch life. Cliff met his childhood sweetheart, Helen Pinkerton, when she was 15 and he was 19. She was a good horseback rider and they often spent time riding the hills around upper Looking Glass Creek between Clyde Park and Wilsall. Cliff and Helen found their life together was the future they wanted and they were married in December 1944 on Christmas Day. When Cliff was working on the I.B. Neilson ranch east of Livingston, his first ranch job away from his home, he and Helen welcomed their first child Sandra Lee. Cliff worked the next two years on a number of ranches before finally being offered the opportunity to join his parents in the operation of the Carpenter ranch on Cottonwood Bench. Cliff remained on that old ranch, circa 1892, until he sold to Bob Boyd in 1990. During their busy life he and Helen lived in the little house. His parents lived in the big house out next to the Cottonwood bench road. Cliff vowed some day he would own and live in the big double story Sears-Roebuck catalog house, built in 1912. Cliff and Helen welcomed two sons while living on their ranch. Rick Allen born in 1948 and Roy Terrell born in 1954. Card parties, horses, raising cows with the endless chores he knew and enjoyed, ongoing care and attention to his parents as they grew older, some traveling, buying and upgrading machinery and trying to make the fall checkbook come out right was their life. Family fun and gatherings were constant .Cliff was always into automobiles and owned over 40 in his life, not counting the trucks. Don't forget the combines, tractors and hay balers. Following the loss of his parents Cliff was finally able to realize a dream. He and Helen moved into the big Carpenter home in 1974. His life changed that year with the discovery that Helen was suffering from a serious heart problem. Trips to Billings found that they could not change or help her problem. His partner, confidant, bookkeeper, love of his young life, mother of his children, the main person he worked for in their life together left him suddenly in June, 1975. Their ranch life suddenly changed and Cliff began to look beyond the Bench Road. Cliff was a realist and it was time to see what he could salvage of the rest of his life. Traveling with his nephew Mitch Miller he began to see what was happening in Livingston. On just one of those evenings when he and Mitch were out he met someone he knew since she was one year old. Pat (Hansen) Bauer. He decided right that night that he could find love again if she was at all interested. Pat was from Clyde Park and her parents, uncles and cousins were people Cliff grew up with and knew well. The love story grew and he asked her to marry him in March 1976 on her birthday. They were married July 10, 1976. They just celebrated 37 years together and a combined family of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren not to count the outlaying sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews and cousins. It was a grand total of over 250 living relatives when Cliff and Pat got married. Cliff got into custom combining and baling with new equipment, best on the New Holland and John Deere lots, farming also went on as usual. While Pat had a job in Livingston that rounded out their busy life Cliff found happiness again. Fate stepped in the winter of 1978 when Pat saw a business opportunity coming that they might be able to invest in and make money for their retirement. In the spring of 1978 Cliff and Pat created Yellowstone Investment with business partners, Clayton Olson and Bill Amsk and purchased the Murray Hotel at auction for $78.000. Cliff couldn't believe he was now going to try to be a "town guy". Before it was over nearly 14 years later they had invested $150,000 and became quite successful and well known. Saving the Murray Hotel became a way of life and treated them well. Cliff decided to get out of ranching in 1990 when Bob Boyd showed an interest in owning the Carpenter ranch. Following his sale they moved into the hotel for a period of time. Selling his ranch was strange but a new way of life was opening up. He was not sad. It was a job well done. He never looked back. Town life was not the way he had thought. His skills were many and his generosity was endless. He had always thought "the town guy" looked down his nose at the "country guy." Cliff discovered his common sense and skills could measure up in all these areas that his business partners could and would not enter. So much for that myth. The Murray became successful after buying out his partners. Cliff and Pat went on until December of 1991 when they sold the Murray Hotel to Dan and Kathleen Kaul from Minnesota. Great common sense hardworking people interested in making the Murray work in Livingston. Selling in four figures was a dream come true. Cliff bought Pat a home in Livingston in December of 1991 and they have lived there for 21 wonderful busy retirement years. Entertaining on a constant and lively basis from "Miller's Bar" in their game room. Cliff has been suffering with congestive heart failure these past 18 months. He was not one to doctor but did well with Dr. Noteboom and his nurse Maria. He said to Pat a month ago, "I don't know how long this old blind cowboy can hang out on this string of love"; He had checked his cards and knew our days were numbered. This great western life style, love of family and friends, a good drink of Velvet 7/7 up, a medium rare beef steak, lots of good long cut snoose, stock market news, family calls and in person visits, new baby announcements, Pat reading him the Enterprise on a daily basis, looking out his window on the changing weather laying in the Absarokee range on the horizon and finally deciding "I guess I did do some things that were worthwhile". He put it all away for the last time Sunday morning September 8th when he went to meet Helen, Sandy, Stan and his family on the other side. This is no regular obit but the story of a western man who dictated much of this for you. Read between the lines and see the love, heartache, success and failures he weathered in his years and know that he left us with love of family in his heart. Cliff is survived by his wife Pat, son and daughter-in-law Roy & Cindy Miller of Livingston; son & daughter-in-law Rick and Connie Miller of Boulder, Montana. Step-son, John D. Bauer of Livingston, beloved Sister-in-law June Miller of Wilsall area. Great grand-children in Livingston, Jack Miller, Tucker Miller, and his beloved Amora Bauer, better known as "Poopsey". Gleason, Printz, Miller nephews, nieces, cousins too numerous to mention. Miller grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren are also too numerous to list. Preceding Cliff in death were his parents, his wife Helen, his daughter Sandra Lee (Miller) Young, his brothers, Willis, Donald, Stanley, his sisters Dorothy and Audrey.