Belle Miller turns 90

WINFIELD — On May 15,1934 in Fargo, North Dakota a baby girl was born to Lloyd and Nellie Larson, they named her Belle. Today Belle (Larson) Miller is 90 years old and lives in Winfield where she recently celebrated her milestone birthday with an open house hosted by her five children. In addition to her children, 10 of her 13 grandchildren and 20 of her 24 great grandchildren along with many other relatives and friends attended the event.

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Belle was the youngest and only girl in her family which included four Larson brothers, Lloyd B., Paul R., Jim R., and Bill R. all of whom are deceased.

When Belle was six years old her family moved to Marshalltown where she grew up and graduated from high school in 1952. She continued her education at Iowa State University and graduated in 1956 with a degree in Home Economics.

Belle said she grew up on an acreage with lots of animals. She has a special place in her heart for horses and in another life, she might have owned a horse ranch. On the acreage she learned responsibilities and had a lot of fun with her four brothers.

Among her most special memories, Belle lists, “Lots of family, lots of travel and lots of moving.”

She also said she came from a musical family and remembers the times they gathered to sing and play various instruments. Belle played violin.

Belle met her first husband, Dale Smith, when they were both students at Iowa State University. They were married June 24,1956 in Marshalltown. Dale was an Air Force officer starting with ROTC at Iowa State. He ended his career early as a First Lieutenant serving as a Navigator /Bombardier on B47s out of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was 1960 when he returned home to help operate the seed/elevator in Trenton with his Dad, who was in ill health.

Dale and Belle had two of their five children while Dale was still in the service, Neil, who lives in Michigan, and Steven, who lives in Altoona.

If you didn’t know Belle, you might think she was a fugitive considering how much she was on the move! The Smiths lived in various locations including Rapid City, South Dakota, Waco, Texas, Wichita, Kansas, Sacramento, California, Lincoln, Nebraska, Trenton, Iowa and finally to Winfield, Iowa in 1988. Dale’s career in the Air Force made it necessary to pack up and move when he was assigned to a new base, which was often.

After settling into their new, and permanent, location in Trenton they added three more children to their family, Katherine (Kurt) Helphery and David, both residents of Winfield, along with Elizabeth (Kirby) Sites of Melcher-Dallas.

Besides raising their family Belle also helped at the grain elevator that Dale and his father owned. In 1980 Dale passed away suddenly leaving Belle with four children at home and a grain elevator to manage. Belle managed the elevator for eight years during which the farm crisis occurred.

After moving to Winfield Belle continued to work full-time as bookkeeper at the Farmer’s Co-Op. She later moved to part-time work with the co-op in the early 80s before she retired at the age of 65.

In October of 1984 she married Jim Miller from Winfield. They were married for eight years before Jim passed away in 1992.

Today Belle lives in Winfield where she is close to her children David and Kathy. She is talented in many areas of needlework, knitting, sewing, embroidery, to name a few.

The church has always been a very important part of Belle’s life. She was a member of the United Methodist Church for many years and enjoyed the wonderful fellowship and worship.

“I was sorry to see it split,” Belle commented.

At 90 years old Belle offers the following advice for the youth of today, “Learn — from the past, appreciate your history. We are not always right, but we’ve put in a lot of time learning. Respect your elders. Be thankful for the United States of America. Remember our freedoms. Fight for our God given rights. We are blessed by God. Freedom is Not Free. Be thankful for those all who have fought for it, give thanks to the families whose family members have died for all of us.”