Dale Edmund Miller

MISSOULA ~ Dale “Butch” Miller left this world on a sunny day, March 30, 2024, from his home on Gopher Drive in Missoula MT, working and busy up to his last moments on this earth.  That that’s who he was.  Strong, Butte-tough, driving those 16’s with one lick of a hammer, drawing the plans and building beautiful homes from Montana to California.  Always doing what needed to be done, no matter what.

He was born in Butte MT in 1940, to Sennie and Dan Miller, joining his sister, Danna Fitzwilliams.   For the rest of his life, he remained an “ol Butte boy” regardless of where he lived.  in 1958, he married his high school sweetheart, Carol Tonkin (Drobny), raising three children; Chris, Dan (Lonnie) and Robyn (Marty).   Together, they built Pinecrest Lodge in DeBorgia  and Miller Construction.  After 26 years, he and Carol divorced, but still cared about each other-three children, 5 grandchildren:  Amanda and Candius MIller (Candius passed in 2016), Nick (Samantha) and Curtis (Christine) Trott, Ashley Sherwood, and 12 great-grandchildren, over 70 years of life. 

In 1993, he married Sylvia Van Dinther, adding two sons, John and Jeremy (Leah) Van Dinther.   In his later years, he loved being Poppa Dale to all the children at Sylvia’s pre-school, KInderhaus Montessori. 

His joys: spending time with his family, his beloved dogs (What a raucous rainbow bridge reunion!) building beautiful things, the graceful sweep of a perfect cast of a fly on the Wise River, his trusty Weatherbee Thunderstick or bow as he hunted the woods of Montana-his spiritual haven.  Always thank the creator and the animal for helping you feed your family.   

A prince of a man, his eyes sparkling with a zest for life, a humorous tale always at the ready-(they may have been wild, but they were actually true...well, mostly!)  With a twinkle, he’d say he was a favorite child, being a left-handed carpenter and all.  

 He looked into our hearts, forgave our foibles and frailties, and loved us all with an intensity that never wavered.