Miller

Billie Lee Miller, 84, of Benbrook Road in Butler, passed away unexpectedly at 10:45 p.m. Thursday at the Butler Memorial Hospital.

He was born Jan. 6, 1925, in Butler, the son of the late Leonard D. Miller and Alma Fair Miller.

He was a member of the Homeacre Chapel.

He was a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. As a gunner and engineer on a B-17 Bomber (Flying Fortress), he was shot down in the fall of 1944 over Germany. He was captured and imprisoned by the Germans and was forced to participate in the German Death March. He was liberated in the spring of 1945.

He became an elementary school teacher for the Butler School District and retired from teaching full time in 1983 with 32 years of service. He was then a substitute teacher until again retiring in 2005 at the age of 80.

He dearly loved the "Kids" in the Moniteau and Slippery Rock School Districts. A few of the beloved "Kids" have developed a Facebook page for him with more than 1,000 visits.

He was a member of the Disabled American Veterans, the 92nd Bomb Group Association and the American Legion Post 243 in West Sunbury.

Surviving are his wife, Zella Hoffman Miller, who he married July 4, 1945; one son, M. LeMoyne Miller of Butler; three grandsons and their wives, Michael D. and Megan Miller, Nicholas J. and Kate Miller, and Benjamin L. and Natalie Miller; four great-grandchildren, Ian, Amelia, Mason and Cullen, who was born July 11.

He was preceded in death by one brother, Keith Miller, who passed away in 2006, and his daughter-in-law, Karol A. Miller, who passed away July 6, 2009.

<B>MILLER</B> — Friends of Billie Lee Miller, who died Thursday, July 23, 2009, will be received from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the <B>William F. Young Funeral Home</B>, 132 Main St., West Sunbury. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home with the Rev. David Fisher, his pastor, officiating. Burial will be in the West Sunbury Church Cemetery. The funeral procession will be led by the Patriot Honor Guard, and the VFW Post 249 of Butler will provide the graveside military honors.In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Homeacre Chapel or the Homeacre Christian Academy, 340 Whitestown Road, Butler, 16061.Information also is available at www.youngfuneralhomes.com.