Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 272164
Title: Joyce I. Miller
Date: 2/23/1936-4/15/2026
Inscription/Marks: 2/23/1936
Summary: Joyce Miller passed away on April 15, 2026. Her funeral service was held at Evans Funeral Home, Carrington, ND, with burial at the Carrington Cemetery. Joyce Ilene Miller was born February 23, 1936, in Noonan, ND, to Calmer and Ada (Scaman) Melby. She grew up on their family farm in Noonan, ND, in the presence of four loving brothers and a younger sister. Tragically, Joyce’s father died as a result of an auto accident when she was in grade school. Joyce and her sister, Janet, were sent to Canopus, Sask, Canada, to live with her maternal grandparents, William and Annie Scaman, for a time. Eventually, the family moved to Columbus, ND, where Joyce attended high school and met the love of her life, Gary Miller. She spoke fondly of going to the movies and to dances with her handsome date, dancing to classics such as “Blue Moon” and “You Send Me.” Joyce went on to graduate from high school and then started nursing training in Minot, ND. Joyce married her high school sweetheart, Gary, on February 26, 1954, in Noonan, ND. They began married life in Grand Forks, ND, and then moved to Carrington, ND, where Joyce dedicated her life to caring for her family. Joyce was active in the North Dakota Women’s Club and was a devoted member of Faith Baptist Church. She faithfully served as Sunday School superintendent for many years. Later, Joyce began working at Golden Acres Manor, where she was head of the laundry department for over 25 years. Joyce cherished time with her family, especially moments with her grandchildren. She hosted many family gatherings and was the cornerstone of many family traditions. She was particularly known for her hearty lasagna, decadent brownies, and hot fudge sauce, family favorites! Joyce was passionate about sharing her love for Jesus and His love for her family. She would often say, “Did you know that I love you, and Jesus does too?” Joyce was a woman of great faith. She became a devoted prayer warrior for her children, grandchildren, extended family, and friends. In her years as a resident at Golden Acres, she also prayed for the children and grandchildren of the staff who attended to her there. Joyce is survived by her son, Scott Miller, and family, Julie (Joe) Martinson, Jordyn, Tanner, and Landon, Luke (Jayme) Miller, Brekken and Berkley, and Dan Miller; her son, Brent (Roxanne) Miller and family, Tara (Carlos) Rodriguez and Tom (LeeAnn) Miller, Oscar and Wallace; her son, Mark (Kari) Miller, and family, Samuel (Paige) Miller, Soren and Asher, Jonathan (Jaci) Miller, Anna (Pete) Thadi and Lily, and Grace Miller (Tucker); and her daughter, Cathy Paulson and family, Nate (Leah) Hjelseth, Will and Thomas, Sarah (Gary) Schindler, Mandi (Fale) Afoa, Lola, Koa, Luana, Leilani; Maddi, Olivia, Grace, Lexi, James, Kennedy, and Evelyn Schindler, Eric (Mary Jo) Paulson, Connor (Danny) Arellano, Justin (Carolyn) Paulson, Adeline and Olive, Emi (Jessi) Brewer and Charlotte, Joan (Dave) Copenhaver, Kirsten (Brad) Pecka, Hudson, Aubrey, Grady and Evie, Carly (Caleb) Pritchard and Blakely, Jacob Copenhaver, Matt Paulson (Laura), Trevor, Brett, Noah, Jack, Pat (Nichole) Paulson, Megan (Joe) Schreiner, Brynley and Emma, Gabby and Abi, Brian (Erin) Paulson, Annabelle, Cole, Ellie, Cooper, and Piper. Joyce is also survived by her sister-in-law, Betty Melby, and many cherished nieces and nephews. Joyce was preceded by her husband, Gary; and her brothers, Morris, Lowell, Duane, and Howard Melby; and sister, Janet Matthys; and son-in-law, Gerald (Snook) Paulson.
Red ID: FND_I_79656 Image ID: 558721 Image Notes: FND001 272164

Collection: FND001 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Date: -

Summary: The North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program is sponsored by the North Dakota Funeral Directors Association. The life stories of deceased North Dakotans are featured in an archvied collection. Current partners in the project are Eastgate Funeral & Cremation Services, Bismarck Evans Funeral Homes, Carrington and New Rockford Everson-Coughlin Funeral Home, Williston Fulkerson Funeral Home, Tioga Fulkerson Funeral Home, Watford City Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home, Williston Nero Funeral Home, Bottineau Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck Springan Stevenson Funeral Home, Stanley Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson These funeral homes provide recent obituaries to the Foundation, where staff and volunteers format, edit and archive each memorial. The memorials are posted, and copies are sent to the family for their input and approval. The listing currently features more than 13,000 memorials, and is constantly updated as new memorials and histories are received.

Enter a subject or term in one or both of the “Search” boxes.

  • “Item Detail” searches the Title, Creator and Summary fields of all item-level records.
  • “Collection Number” searches the Collection Number field only and requires an exact match.

The “DETAILS” button provides additional information about an item, as well as the following options:

  • “Collection Summary” details the contents of the entire collection in which the selected item is located.
  • You can print the image and its corresponding details by selecting “Print".
  • “Digitized Images from the Collection” returns a list of all digitized items within that collection (available from the “Collection Summary” screen).

Click on image to expand/zoom the image view.

“Photobook home” takes you back to the main Photobook page where you can start a new search.

“Featured Collections” showcases new and/or popular collections and the digitized images within those collections.

Information on how to order copies is located here.

The collections preserved in the North Dakota State Archives include over a million images. Only a small percentage of these images have been digitized. This photo gallery provides a preview of the images that have been digitized.

For more information on the non-digitized images, please refer to the finding aids found on our website at history.nd.gov, or ask a member of our reference staff for assistance.