Mildred Haslip Miller Gregory, age 99, died April 15, 2011 at Elkhorn Health and Rehabilitation in Clancy.
Millie was born in Great Falls on July 17, 1911 to Raymond James Haslip and Helen Strand Haslip. She was the last of a much cherished generation.
From riding in a covered wagon to driving and camping all over the U.S., Millie loved adventure, her family, animals and playing games. While her dad Ray worked for the Montana Power Company in Great Falls, Adel and Orr near the Smith River, the family split their time wintering in Great Falls with summers at their homestead 50 miles from Big Sandy in the Bear Paw Mountains. It took two days by covered wagon to reach the homestead from town, sleeping under the wagon at night. Conditions were harsh, and Millie’s younger brother Ralph died when he was two. After Ralph’s death, Millie spent a lot of time in school, attending summer school in the country and regular school the rest of the year in Great Falls.
Millie’s family moved to East Helena in 1919, where Ray was in charge of horseback patrol of power lines from the East Helena substation to the Hump Cabin. Millie attended East Helena schools and graduated from Helena Senior High School. Baptized at age 8 at the East Helena Methodist Church, she later joined St. Paul’s Methodist Church and hosted the reception after the early church service for many years. Millie was ahead of her time. She was a strong, independent career woman who worked for USF&G for 44 years, starting as a file girl and ending her career as the secretary to the manager. Millie married Glenn E. Miller on October 29, 1931. Glenn worked at Capitol Ford. Millie, Glenn and Glenn’s half brother John Quigley started Frontier Town, and Millie was the secretary during their meetings. Millie and Glenn shared 25 years together until his death in 1956. Millie married John M. Gregory in 1963. They had a lot of fun traveling together, until John’s death in 1979. Millie was a champion bowler. She won trophies in local, regional, national and international tournaments.
Millie traveled the U.S., Canada and Mexico with many trips to Las Vegas and Elko. Just two weeks ago, Millie was talking about a cross country trip in which she had driven her mother “Ma” and sister Bea to Florida and up the east coast. She even drove the car and camper into Manhattan, but she said they quickly found a place to park and then walked. As well as traveling by car, Millie loved to travel by foot, walking to and from work each day as well as walking to stores and restaurants. Surely there is a special place in Heaven for Millie because of her selfless, loving care of ailing relatives. She spent years caring for Bea, Ma, her second husband John, and her older brother James. Because she had no children of her own, she had very special close relationships with her local family, especially her nephew Jim Jr. and his wife Delores Haslip, with whom she went out for lunch daily, and shared numerous road trips and countless games of cards or Rummikub. Surviving her are nephews, William R. Haslip of Bountiful, UT and Gerald J. Haslip of Victor, MT. She was blessed with a wonderful attitude as well as fantastic physical and mental health all of her life. People had to be warned not to play a game against Millie unless their egos could withstand losing to a 99-year old.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Ralph and James, her sister Beatrice, her husbands Glenn E. Miller and John M. Gregory, and her nephew James R. Haslip, Jr. Thanks to all of Millie’s kind care givers.
The service will be at Retz Funeral Home Chapel, 315 E. 6th Ave., Helena at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, April 23,2011 with interment at Forestvale Cemetery. A reception will follow at Liberty Baptist Church, 210 Sierra Rd. W. To offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Millie, please visit www.retzfuneralhome.com.
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Caden says
You?re a real deep thkeinr. Thanks for sharing.
Patricia L.(Gregory) Maness says
I’m sorry to lose Millie. She was married to my Uncle Jack. She was a neat lady. She lived a long life. My prayers are with you.
Patricia