Nels Miller, a farmer living near Kennard, suffered a stroke of paralysis the fore part of the week and died Tuesday. The funeral takes place today at 2:00 p.m. at the M. E. church in Kennard. Mr. Miller was a prosperous farmer and a good citizen of this county and a large circle of friends join in extending sympathy to the bereaved family.

Blair Courier 8 Dec 1898

The sorrowful news reached Blair last Tuesday that at an early hour of the morning of that day Nels Miller passed away at his home in Kennard. He was about 50 years old, a pioneer of that town and an extensive land and property owner and a solid and substantial citizen whom everybody loved to honor. For many years previous to his affliction he was assessor for Richland township and his nomination was always equivalent to an election. Death was due to a second stroke of paralysis, the first stroke having occurred about the middle of July, 1895, while he was employed at raking hay in the Kennard cemetery which had been mown by a hired man. Prior to this first stroke he was for several years afflicted with heart trouble and his physician had warned him against the excessive heart which he assured him would almost certainly produce paralysis. He was for more than a year treated by Dr. Pruner, of Kennard, and Dr. Smith, of Fremont, but to no material avail, and when the second stroke visited him last Tuesday morning he soon fell asleep in death’s embrace. He had always been progressive and energetic and rapidly laid the foundation for his accumulation of the world’s possessions. Many were the privations Mr. Miller underwent in the earlier days, but as the resources of the town and county were developed he began to be rewarded for his thrift and good business judgment. The funeral services will be held at two o’clock p.m. today and interment will be made in the Kennard cemetery. He was a kind and affectionate husband and father, kind to everyone, and the world was made better because he lived in it. He leaves a wife and two children to mourn their loss. In the death of Mr. Miller, Kennard sustains a great loss. He was generous and took an interest in all that pertained to the well being of the community. He was a man of strong faith; modest, unassuming, and his life was one of devotion to his family and friends, upon whom especially his death falls heavily.

Note: Per Kennard Cemetery records: Birth 7 Sept 1857; death 6 Dec 1898; Name spelled Niels on stone; Buried Blk 1 Lot 45 Sp 1; Wife Christine Christensen Miller.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~

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