Barbara J. Miller, 85

Barbara J. Miller, 85, of Athol, died peacefully in her home Wednesday, May 2, 2024. She was born April 20, 1939, in Denver, Colo., to her father and mother, Bruce and Bonnie (Cobaugh) Anderson. 

At 9, her family moved to Athol, Idaho. They built a homestead on Bunco Mountain, where they had homegrown strawberries. She and her brother attended school in Spirit Lake. In 1957, she married Ted Medley of Post Falls; they had three children: Sheryl, Daryl and Michael Medley. In 1973, Barbara and Ted divorced, and she moved back to Athol to be closer to her mother. Around 1990, she married Ernie Miller of Rathdrum, but they separated in 2003. 

She enjoyed baking, canning, camping, watching old-west TV shows, karaoke and classic country music. Around 2005, she met William Evans, the grandkids call them Grama Barbara and Papa Bill, her companion and love. They lived happily together until his death in 2016. During their time together, they traveled to California each year to visit his family reunions and had a passion for the San Francisco 49ers football team. As a pair, they made jelly and jams from the huckleberries and blackberries Papa Bill enjoyed picking and spent spring and summer days watching the hummingbirds eat from the bird feeders on the front porch of their home. 

She was preceded in death by her brother, Robert Anderson, son Daryl Medley and companion William Evans. She is survived by daughter Sheryl Nelson, son and daughter-in-law Michael and Dianne Prochaska/Medley, daughter-in-law Janet Medley, all of Athol, son Louis Hays of Texas, nephew Robert Anderson Jr., and several grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. 

To you, Mom/Grama,/Great Grama Barbara, “We love you, and don't you ever forget it.”