Joan Leslie (Harp) Miller, 83

Joan Leslie (Harp) Miller, 83, passed away Monday, April 2, 2007, at the Immanuel Lutheran Home in Kalispell. She was born Sept. 4, 1923, in St. Paul, Minn., to Leonard and Mae (Rudd) Harp. Joan moved with her family in September 1935 to Montana, where she later graduated from Flathead High School.

She met her lifelong partner, Orville, at the age of 18 through friends Jane and Rollin Kaufman. They all went roller-skating for the first date. After only eight dates, Orville proposed to Joan. Joan Harp married Orville Miller on March 14, 1942, at the First Baptist Church in Kalispell, with Maxine Burrell and Vilas AuClaire as witnesses. Joan and Orville honeymooned at the Florence Hotel in Missoula.

Joan worked with her husband in the tree industry for many years. She would design and create beautiful Christmas centerpieces for the business. Joan was also an accomplished artist. Painting landscapes and old buildings was her passion. Later in life, when her health forced her to give up painting, Joan wrote her autobiography, leaving a legacy and treasured timeline for her family.

Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Orville Miller; her parents; one sister, Peggy Graham; a brother, John R. Harp; and an infant daughter, Mary Lisa.

She is survived by a son, Stephen Miller, of Missoula; a daughter, Bronwyn Barthule, and husband, John, of Sturgis, S.D.; eight grandchildren, Cory, Cali, Caelon, Cole, Nicole, Bryan, Lance and Jeff; three great-grandchildren, Emily, Bobbi Jo and Kyrsten; one sister, Nancy Huffsmith, of Phillipsburg; her lifelong friend, Audy AuClaire, of Kalispell; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral services for Joan will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 7, at Central Bible Church, with Pastor Ron Youde officiating. Burial will be afterward in the C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, April 6, at Johnson Mortuary.

Johnson Mortuary and Crematory is caring for Joan's family.