Lawrence William Miller

Louisburg – A Funeral Mass for Lawrence William Miller, 87, Louisburg, will be at 10 a.m. today at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Louisburg. Burial will follow in St. Clement, Mo.Mr. Miller died Saturday, March 25, 2006, at his home.He was born Aug. 5, 1918, near Bowling Green, Mo., the son of Anton “Tony” and Louise Oberdahlhoff Miller. He graduated from Bowling High School and received a degree in agriculture from the University of Missouri.Mr. Miller served in the U.S. Army during World War II from 1941 to 1945 in the 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion with the 28th Division. He was captured during the Battle of the Bulge and remained a prisoner until the war ended in May of 1945. He received a Purple Heart with a cluster and a Bronze Star. He taught a course at Bowling Green and operated a dairy farm with his brother, Oscar Miller. He worked for the Agricultural Investments Division of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and retired as assistant vice president in 1982. He continued to farm after he retired. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus for 67 years. He served on a number of boards and volunteered for several community organizations.Mr. Miller married Johanna Lindemann on Sept. 28, 1943, in rural Bowling Green. She survives, of the home.Other survivors include three sons, Greg, Lenexa, John, Ponca City, Okla., and Dwight, Leawood; two daughters, Lynn Sheely, Lawrence, and Lou Ann Patterson, Leawood; two sisters, Martha Deters, Bowling Green, and Hilda Reed, Grand Rapids, Mich.; 18 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.A son, Mark, died in January 2004.The family suggests memorials to a charity of the donor’s choice.Wilson & Son Funeral Home in Louisburg is in charge of arrangements.