Dorothy J. Miller

Dorothy Jean Miller, 94, passed away on October 8, 2022 in Ft Collins CO. She was born in Elgin IL on July 21,1928 to Maurice and Irene Villars. She was a graduate of Elgin High School and worked for a time at the Elgin Watch Factory. Dorothy married Robert “Bob” Kramka in Monte Vista CO on November 14, 1947, traveling alone by train from Elgin to meet up with her newly discharged Air Force fiancé in Cheyenne WY. Together they went on to Monte Vista where Dorothy’s aunt & uncle served as witnesses to their wedding in the local church and her teenage cousins were forced to attend by their parents despite a far more desirable weekend school event they would have much preferred attending.Their honeymoon night was spent at the hotel in town and the next day Dorothy and Bob saddled up at the ranch to help out with a cattle roundup. And so began their married life together. Back in Elgin, Dorothy settled in to her role as a wife and mother. She had four children between 1948 and 1957, two boys and two girls. Beginning as a farmer’s wife and stay-at-home mother, she eventually began working outside the home and re-invented herself as a female professional in the credit union industry. Her first job in that field was at the state hospital credit union in Elgin at her husband’s encouragement, and she progressed up through the ranks at Kane County Teachers Credit Union, Leedex Federal Credit Union (LeeWards) as Manager, Fox Valley Credit Union and, ultimately, Bensenville Community Credit Union as President/CEO until her retirement in 1996, more than a year after Bob’s death. Among her career highlights was a 3 year scholarship she was awarded to attend CUNA School at the University of Wisconsin and her trip to Germany in 1983 with a contingent of professionals from the Illinois Credit Union League. Bob died unexpectedly in 1995, leaving her a widow. After retirement, Dorothy moved to Ft Collins CO to be near her daughters. She established herself in the community as a board member of the Ft Collins Senior Citizens Center where she met her second husband, Gordon Miller, at the weekly potluck suppers. A widower and recently retired Lutheran pastor, Gordon proposed to her and they married in 2000. Gordon’s death in 2008 left her a widow for a second time. She liked to tease that if she added up the total years married in her life she could claim more than 50 years. Dorothy lived a life of Christian faith and she made family and her work priorities. She liked to crochet and did some machine quilting. She loved Colorado and reveled in its mountains, flora, fauna and rocks. She never turned down an opportunity to spend time in the mountains. Many a rock was taken home in the trunk of the car after a family vacation and decorated her yard in Illinois; she paid to move those same rocks back when she relocated to Colorado. Her great sense of humor and willingness to laugh at herself leaves us all with great memories. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents and two sisters (Elaine Whittington and Carol Herrmann), spouses (Robert Kramka and Gordon Miller), one grandchild (Benjamin Swanson), and one great grandchild (Aurora McQueen). She leaves behind four children and their spouses: Kathy (Tom) Boyce of Farmington NM, Tom (Carol) Kramka of Moravia IA, Linda (Ray) Swanson of Ft Collins CO and Jim (Anne Marie) Kramka of Nashville TN. She also leaves behind nine grandchildren: Jackie Pearce, Bethany McQueen, Neal Kramka, Joe Swanson, Kai Fletcher, Roy Kramka, Julia Kramka, Scott Hayes, Jason Hayes and seven great-grandchildren: Wesley Pearce, Allison Pearce, Aliyah Hayes, Avery Hayes, Wyatt Hayes, Joe Hayes, Anne Hayes. A small graveside service will be held at Plato Center Cemetery near Elgin, where her ashes will be laid to rest with her first husband. Memorial contributions may be made to Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, 2000 S Lemay Ave, Ft. Collins CO 80525-1204.