Beckham Co OK - John Burdick Miller From: Jerri Hodde ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** MILLER,John Burdick b.12 May 1882 d.25 Sep 1948 b. Carter cemetery *Carter,Beckham county,Oklahoma h/o Bertha GASKILL h/o Ruth WILSON John Burdick MILLER age 66,of Beckham county,died of a heart attack at 5:20 a.m. Wednesday in a Cordel hospital to which he had been taken Sunday after being stricken. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning at the Savage Funeral Chapel in Elk City.The body will lie in state up until Friday morning at 9a.m. and after that the casket will not be opened. Mr.MILLER was a native of Maringo,Iowa,having been born there May 12,1882. At the age of 18,he came to Medford,Okla.,in 1900 from Iowa,and for the most part had been engaged in the publishing and printing business ever since. In 1925 Mr.MILLER and family came to Elk City from Liberal,Kan.,and purchased the Elk City News Democrat,the weekly predecessor to The Elk City Daily News.The newspaper was bought from Mr. and Mrs. W.L.BLACKBURN,and Mr.MILLER continued to operate this paper until 1928 when he sold out all interest to Eugene C.PULLIAM,Lebanon,Indiana. Alone with his sons,he then purchased the Childress Chevrolet company here,which they operated for more than two years after which he sold out and returned to the newspaper business at Erick where he published the Beckham County Democrat for four years from 1931 to 35,and then moved to Carter where he founded the Carter News,which has not been published for the past eight years since his leaving that community to return to Elk City. Upon returning to Elk City,Mr.MILLER took over operation of the Elk City Hatchery advertising and printing department,and after World War II broke out,he became associated with the Elk City Journal as news editor. In 1945 Mr.MILLER returned to the publishing business,purchasing the Thomas Tribune from Mrs.Frances Lee UNDERWOOD,now of the Elk City News. Il health forced him to leave this section of the country and he became associated with a newspaper at Artesia,New Mex.As his health improved he returned to Oklahoma. At the time of his death,he and his wife were operating the MILLER Printing company at Cordell. Widely known throughtout Western Oklahoma as a crusading publisher,Mr.MILLER had a large circle of friends and acquaintences. He was preceded in death by his first wife,Bertha GASKILL MILLER,who succumbed from injuries in the automobile mishap near here in November 1939.She was buried at Carter. In January 1942 he was united in marriage to Ruth WILSON MILLER who survives him,along with his three sons,Ray MILLER of Frederick,Lowell of Hobbs,New Mexico and Leo of Amarillo,Texas and three step-children Mrs.Oscar DUKE will be in charge of the music for the rites,Pallbearers will be W.G.SMITH,Paul WADE,and Walter BLACKBURN of Elk City;W.J.BACON of Sayre;J.C.MAC KENZIE and Chill SMITH,the latter two of Carter. The body will lay in state at the Savage funeral chapel until 9 o'clock Friday morning.Following the services here.Interment will be made in the Carter cemetery. Surviving him are his wife,Ruth WILSON MILLER of the home address at Cordell and three sons,Ray of Frederick,Leo of Amarillo,Texas,and Lowell of Hobbs,New Mexico.The latter was not expected to be able to attend the final rites. Mrs.Leo MILLER also will be unable to be present due to being hospitalized at Amarillo since Labor Day after suffering injuries in an automobile accident there. Also surviving the well known publisher in his immediate family are three step-children,Len,Sanford,and Joanne WILSON. ==== OKBECKHA Mailing List ==== http://www.rootsweb.com/~okbeckha/