William "Bill" Miller, age 73 of Washburn, ND, passed away peacefully at his home on August 14th, 2012, surrounded by his loving family after fighting a courageous battle with cancer.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:00 A.M. Saturday, August 18th at St. Edwin's Catholic Church in Washburn. Burial will follow in Riverview Cemetery, Washburn.

Visitation will be held from 4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. Friday at St. Edwin's Catholic Church with a 7:00 P.M. Prayer Service.

William "Bill" Miller was born on April 13, 1939 to Constantine and Josephine (Lemer) Miller in Drake, ND. Bill was raised on a farm north of Drake and attended country school. On October 5, 1960, he was united in marriage to Carol Zacher in Maddock, ND. As a young man, he worked for a local gas station in Drake. He worked on the railroad and also worked on building missile sites in ND. He attended Bismarck Junior College receiving a degree in Auto Body Repair. They moved to Washburn in 1967 where he worked for Hoffman Motors as an auto body technician. He later joined the Boilermakers Union Local 647, retiring in 2001.

Bill was an avid hunter and enjoyed teaching all of his sons and grandsons how to hunt. He enjoyed playing pinochle, gardening, bowling, walking his dog, driving and working on derby cars with his sons and brother. He was a Cub Scout den leader, member of the Washburn Gun Club, Washburn Jaycees, Bismarck Eagles, and a member of the Washburn Volunteer Fire Department for 33 years. Bill could not walk by a coin operated crane machine without winning all of his grandchildren lots of stuffed toys. Bill enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren, spoiling them and sending them home. Bill was a man of many talents and was able to fix almost anything. He was known to many in Washburn as a very talented and knowledgeable mechanic.

Bill is survived by his wife of 51 years, Carol of Washburn; daughter, Lori (Paul) Hardy of Underwood; 4 sons, Barry of West Fargo, Don of Washburn, Tim (Dina) of Bismarck, & Dean of West Fargo; his mother, Josephine Miller of Drake, ND; 8 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren; 4 sisters, Marion (Jim) Uhlich of Drake, Marlene Schaefer of Bismarck, Connie (Julius) Gange of Jamestown, & Shirley Bruner of Anamoose; 3 brothers, Leroy (Elaine) of Drake, Larry of Logan, ND, & Myron (Mary Kay) of Drake; sister-in-law, Vicki Miller of Bismarck; numerous nieces and nephews; and his walking partner (dog) Carmel.

He was preceded in death by his son (Todd), father (Constantine), grandson (T.J. Larson), mother and father-in-law (Harry and Anna Zacher), one brother (Alvin), brothers-in-law (Neal Bruner, Ronald Zacher, & Galen Schaefer), and a niece (Melissa Gange).