Reba Mae (Smedley) MILLER

SMEDLEY, MILLER, CURTIS, BRANDOW, BINGAMAN, NELSON, SNYDER, COGILL, BUCALSTEIN, AUCK

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 3/6/2011 at 20:45:36

March 4, 2011

BELMOND, IA - Reba M. Miller, age 90, of Belmond, a native of the Mason City area, died Friday, March 4, 2011, at the Belmond Medical Center in Belmond. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 7, 2011, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 304 Third Ave. N.E., Belmond. The Rev. Rod Hopp will be officiating. Burial will be in the Belmond Cemetery. Visitation will be today, Sunday, from 5 until 7 p.m. at the Andrews Funeral Home, 516 First St. S.E., Belmond, and continue one hour prior to the services at church on Monday. Those wishing to express their sympathies through a memorial in Reba's name may wish to consider the Belmond Area Arts Council, Box 182, Belmond, IA 50421, or to their own choice.

Reba Mae Smedley, the daughter of Milton and Louisa (Curtis) Smedley, was born on May 30, 1920, on her parents' farm near Rockwell. She attended country schools through the eighth grade and graduated from Mason City High School in 1937. During her high school years she did housekeeping and cared for various families in the Mason City area in return for room and board. Reba was united in marriage to Andrew "Andy" James Miller on Dec. 24, 1938, at First Christian Church in Mason City. Following the couple's marriage, Andy drove trucks for a time before they moved to a farm northwest of Belmond. Reba and Andy farmed together and began their family while on the farm. Their marriage was blessed with four children: Iola, Ilene, Jim, and Sue.

The couple farmed and rented from Harold Simerson until 1958 when they moved to Missouri for two years. Returning to Belmond in 1960, Andy started an auctioneering business and became co-owner of the Belmond Sales Pavilion, as well as operating a Pioneer Seed Sales Dealership. Reba played an integral role in all of these businesses assisting with the bookkeeping and as a cashier in Andy's auction business. Reba relished her roles as a loving wife and life partner to Andy, a nurturing mother, and proud grandmother. She received great joy and satisfaction in providing a home for her family and following all the activities and accomplishments of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Reba had a life-long faith that began in her early childhood when she was baptized in the Church of Christ in Mason City, and for 30 years her and Andy were active members of the Clarion Church of Christ, before the couple attended Trinity Lutheran church in Belmond after they moved into town.

Reba was a past member of the Rebecca Lodge and the Belmond Hospital Auxiliary. She also had enjoyed her involvements with the Belmond Area Arts Council and her years of delivering Meals on Wheels with Andy. The couple had also given of their time as lab couriers and patient transport for the Belmond Hospital to Mercy Medical Center in Mason City. Reba loved to work with her hands, creating many beautiful crocheted and embroidered keepsakes including afghans, doilies, and tablecloths for her family. She was an excellent cook and loved to bake goodies for her family and friends. She was an avid reader enjoying nearly anything that was available, fiction and non-fiction. She loved to work crosswords, spent time watching games shows, and was an avid fan of the Minnesota Twins. Those who had the privilege of crossing in Reba's life journey will remember her gentle nature, welcoming personality, and warm and friendly smile.

Her memory of legacy will be cherished in the hearts and minds of her surviving family, including her daughters, Iola Brandow and her husband, Richard, Moberly, Mo., Ilene Bingaman and her husband, Roy, Slater, Mo., son, Jim Miller and his wife, Nancy, Nevada, and her daughter, Sue Nelson and her husband, David, Belmond; 14 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, and three great great-grandchildren; sisters-in-law, Mildred Miller, Moberly, Mo., and Donna (D.L.) Snyder, Yuma, Ariz.; and numerous nieces and nephews. Reba was preceded in death by her parents, Milton and Louisa Smedley; husband, Andrew "Andy" Miller on Oct. 7, 2000; three sisters, Alice Cogill, Lettie Bucalstein, and Ruth Auck; and four brothers, Vernon, Arthur, Joseph "Joe", and Clyde Smedley; two nieces, three nephews, and one great-nephew. Andrews Funeral Home, Belmond.

Mason City Globe Gazette -- Iowa
March 6, 2011