E. Lucille (McMurry) Miles

E. Lucille Miles, age 94 of Livingston, passed away peacefully in her home Saturday Sept. 21st, 2019 with her son and daughter by her side. Elizabeth Lucille McMurry (Miles) was born in Livingston May 29th, 1925 to Frank McMurry and Vena (Terwilliger) McMurry. Her mother passed away at the age of 30 when Lucille was only 3. With her two sisters, Mary and June, she was raised by her grandparents Mary and Lewis Terwilliger.On the day she graduated from Park High and on her 18th birthday, Lucille married Arthur D. "Bud" Miles. Bud and Lucille were deeply devoted to each other and in spite of challenges they faced, they never lost their passion for life, their love for each other and their wonderful senses of humor. They enjoyed dancing, theater, music, movies, family get-togethers, entertaining friends, travel, were avid readers, loved learning new things and most of all loved doing these things together. They raised four children, Dan, Sam, Jim and Bonnie.In 1956, Lucille and Bud and family moved to the ranch west of Livingston, remodeling a house that was built as a hotel for a stage stop in the 1860s. Lucille had great fun designing the house, and created a place that brought countless hours of enjoyment for family and friends. She cooked for the hay crew in the summers and often hosted live-ins who worked on the ranch, including international students.Lucille had a heart of compassion and service. She was an active member of PEO and made many close friends there. She was also active in Yellowstone Club and headed up the reception committee at Holbrook Methodist Church for years. Lucille valued her friendships, including a group of High School friends that formed a "Shuffle (bridge) Club" that existed for decades. Lucille had friends of all ages and loved getting to know new people and welcoming them to the community. She was a gracious hostess, able to focus on her guests as if she had nothing else in the world to do. Her home was always a place of welcome. She was kind and gracious. But she also had a lot of spunk and a wonderful sense of humor and humility that gave her the ability to laugh at herself and see her own shortcomings. She was an eternal optimist and her wisdom and calm presence were grounding.Losing Bud in 2008 was very hard on Lucille. With the support of family, she was able to stay on the ranch. Son Dan assumed the ranch operations for Lucille, and in 2015 he and his wife Rita built an addition on the ranch house to be close to watch out for her. Her son-in-law, Lee, and she were great friends. They had fun talking, reading the paper, doing puzzles and listening to music. Bonnie visited often and she and Lucille talked daily.Though her outings dwindled, Lucille still enjoyed seeing friends and she deeply appreciated the camaraderie of her family. She loved Ritas great cooking, watching TV with Dan in the evenings, visits from Lee and Bonnie, and visits from her grandkids and great grandkids.Lucille was preceded in death by her father and mother, husband Arthur (Bud), sisters June Carl and Mary Switzer, and son Sam Miles. She is survived by children Dan (Rita) Miles of Livingston, James Miles of Nashville, TN, Bonnie (Lee) Harry of Dillon, MT, grandchildren Ben (Kristi) Miles of San Francisco, CA, and Lisa Miles (Tim) Lin of San Jose, CA, great grandchildren Claire and Christopher Lin and Chiara and Atlas Weston (AW) Miles, Buds half-brother Milo (Donna) Miles, Buds step brother Stan (Kate) Todd, two nephews and several grandnieces and nephews.A memorial service will be held Saturday, November 16th - 2pm at Holbrook Methodist Church, 424 W Lewis St., Livingston, reception will follow the service at the church..The family suggests memorial donations be made to Chapter P, P.E.O. Sisterhood Scholarship Fund. These may be sent to: Lorayne Stermitz, 488 Cinnabar Basin Road, Gardiner, MT 59030.Franzen-Davis Funeral Home and Crematory has been entrusted with arrangements.