Jean W. Miller

Jean W. Miller, Sheldon

Funeral services for Jean W. Miller, 97 of Sheldon who passed away Friday October 10, 2025 at Fieldcrest Assisted Living in Sheldon. Services will be at 7P.M. Friday October 31, 2025 at the Vander Ploeg Funeral Home in Sheldon with burial on Saturday November 1, 2025 at noon at the Immanuel Reformed Cemetery in Springfield, South Dakota. Visitation with the family present will be from 5:30 – 7:00 P.M. Friday October 31, 2025 at the Vander Ploeg Funeral Home in Sheldon. Arrangements are under the care of the Vander Ploeg Funeral Home of Sheldon and the Peters Funeral Home in Springfield, South Dakota.

OBITUARY FOR JEAN WILMA MILLER

Jean Wilma Dake was born on September 4, 1928, in Johnstown, New York. She died peacefully at Vista Prairie at Fieldcrest, an assisted living in Sheldon, Iowa, on October 10, 2025. Jean was the fourth of eight children born to Ernest and Mary Dake. After high school in Fonda, New York, she briefly worked as a secretary and then married her pastor, William Miller, on November 29, 1946. They moved to Holland, Michigan, where he taught at Hope College for two years, and then was called to serve at Covenant Reformed Church in Muskegon, Michigan, where three of their five children were born: Kathy Jeanne, Klaire Lillian, and Kristine May. Due to pastoral calls, the family moved to Fulton, Illinois; Lynden, Washington; Sheldon, Iowa; and Springfield, South Dakota, all small farming towns. Karol Lyn and Harold Bastiaan were born in Lynden.

Jean found great joy through her roles as homemaker and minister’s wife. She was a nurturing and loving wife and mother, a good listener, and a good cook, baker, and seamstress. She was active in the churches she and her husband served, including teaching Sunday School and working in women’s groups. Most notable is her work in establishing libraries in three churches she was part of. In Springfield, Jean was an active member of the board which oversaw the planning and building of the Springfield Assisted Living Center. She earned an associate’s degree in gerontology at the Springfield branch of the University of South Dakota, graduating summa cum laude in 1983. When husband Bill retired in 1984, they moved into the house which Bill had designed and built in Springfield with the help of family and friends. Jean began to develop macular degeneration, which in time caused blindness. She faced her disability with courage, using state resources for the visually impaired. In addition, she organized and facilitated a support group for others with visual impairment, serving three communities.

When Bill developed pancreatic cancer, Jean cared for him at home for two and a half years until he passed away. Daughter Karol and husband Tom moved to Sheldon, Iowa, and Jean entered an apartment at Fieldcrest in Sheldon. Jean enjoyed her life there and often expressed gratefulness for all her caregivers. Eventually she developed dementia and moved into the Memory Care Unit, where she received excellent care. Karol lived close by and kept watch over Jean, taking her to doctors’ visits and handling her personal business. In her last months, Jean received exemplary hospice care at Fieldcrest from Orange City Area Home Health and Hospice

Jean Miller is survived by her brother, Donald Dake (Cindy) of Waynesville, NC; and five children—Kathy Miller (Max Molinaro); Klaire Jameson (William); Kristine Prouty (Leonard); Karol Eggers (Thomas); and Harold Miller. Her grandchildren are Laura Zwaan (Mandel), Jill Macchiaverna (Eric), Alanna Satlak (Tom), Joelle Carson (Paul), Donald Jameson (Rachael), and Zachary Davies. Her great-grandchildren are Emary and Zoey Zwaan, Sage and Evan Macchiaverna, Alex Davies, Vera and Malcolm Carson, Will Jameson, and Sloane and Keaton Satlak.

Memorial gifts may be sent to Bethel Reformed Church in Sheldon, Iowa (bethelsheldon.org/give/) or to Emmanuel Reformed Church in Springfield, South Dakota (emmanuelreformed.com). Funeral arrangements are through Vander Ploeg Funeral Home in Sheldon, Iowa (see eldridgefamilyfuneralhomes.com).