Bonita Lee Miller

Bonita Lee Miller, 74, daughter of the late Lynn and Thelma Miller, passed peacefully the evening of August 15 at Saint Peter’s Hospital in Helena. Bonnie was the long-time owner/operator of the popular downtown establishment, Miller’s Crossing, which she and her siblings sold in 2014.

A daughter, sister, mother, and grandmother, Bonnie was born in Wolf Point, Montana, November 21, 1947. She attended Wolf Point schools, graduating from Wolf Point High School in 1965. A lover of the outdoors, the smell of hay and manure, the crisp air of a mountain meadow, or a gurgling stream, she embraced a longing to commune with her natural surroundings. Until heart issues intervened, there was no adventure she was not willing to try. Her ambitions often paced with her adventurousness — Bonnie was willing to jump into anything that seemed worth its while.

She loved flowers and doted on her gardens when time and health allowed. She appreciated things from her past and the past. Not really a collector, she surrounded herself with artifacts, paintings, distressed furnishing, and myriad items and curios from Montana’s historic legacy. Bonnie was incredibly artistic in a kitchen, inheriting the legendary cooking skill of her mother and grandmother. She sewed, as well, and in the past few years was designing and creating personalized quilts for family and friends. An avid reader, she surely read thousands of volumes on nearly any subject, fiction and non-fiction alike. She had an affinity for the stories of people. She was fascinated by the movements and migrations of people and how some people became different people. She always maintained pride in the roots from which she ascended.

Bonnie is survived by her three children, Liane Taylor, Helena, Rod Taylor. (Rebecca), Thornton, Colorado, and Deric Miller, Helena; five grandchildren, Alyna Thiel (Dale), East Helena; Greer MacDonald, Helena, Elizabeth Taylor, Boulder, Colorado, Lauren MacDonald, Missoula, and Matthew Taylor, Thornton, Colorado; her brothers, Rich Miller, Terry, Montana, and Mick Miller, The Colony, Texas; and her many loving friends and relatives.

Cremation has taken place. A going home celebration will be held in Helena at Miller’s Crossing from 11:30 to 2:30 PM Saturday, August 20. The family encourages all that cared for her to attend. A farewell gathering is planned for September at Bonnie’s beloved Sheep Creek, in eastern Montana, the place she called “the house at the end of the road.”

In lieu of flowers, donations can be directed to the Dr. Tom Weiner Fund.

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