Mildred Marie Neher

On April 18th Mildred Marie Neher (John)—known as “Millie” to Friends and Family, and “Johnnie” to many work colleagues and past patients—died of natural causes in Nampa after 95 years of impacting lives for the better. Her passing reminds us that a life of honest work, good humor, and caring for others matters greatly. Her legacy of rising daily and doing the tiny, decent things that together weave into an inspirational tapestry of living is ultimately a recipe for a life well lived and a person deeply loved.

Millie was born in Natoma, Kansas on November 27, 1930, the 4th of 6 children to Lorenz and Marie John. When she was five years old, the family moved to Nampa, where she lived nearly her entire life. After graduating from Nampa High School, Millie entered nurses training at Mercy Medical Center in Nampa and completed a three-year Registered Nurse curriculum. She spent her career as a practicing Registered Nurse working primarily for Dr. Thomas Horton in Nampa (1951-53 and 1960-86), and in Minneapolis, MN (1953-1955). When Dr. Horton retired, Millie took on coordinating the Alzheimer care unit at the Nampa Care Center from 1986-1994. Millie retired to her home in Nampa and filled her days with volunteering in Nampa schools, and enjoying garden club, quilting groups, and friends and family.

In 1955 Millie married Earl B. Neher Jr. (Ben) of Meridian. The couple had two children, Susan Marie, and Christopher John. When Ben unexpectedly died in 1959, Millie was left to raise and provide for two small children. Drawing on her own fierce self-reliance, and aided by the love and support of family, she built a home and life for her family while working long hours as a nurse.

During her many years in Nampa, Millie was a member of Zion Lutheran Church. She was at her core a person of faith. However, she never used her faith as either a crutch to define her own experiences or as a cudgel to influence the beliefs of others. She lived life as an example, not as a sermon.

Millie had a life of caring for others. As an RN, she often took on the role of home medical caregiver for family, and close friends. Millie was a fierce advocate for her family and doted on her children and grandchildren. Above all, Millie was pragmatic and keenly intelligent. Circumstance had given her a life with little room for big mistakes, and she navigated that narrow road with skill, grace, and humor.

Throughout her life Mildred Neher played the long game; patient by patient, friend by friend, and family member by family member, her kind and caring acts impacted and profoundly changed people. As Robert Frost wrote, “And that has made all the difference.”

Millie was preceded in death by her husband and five siblings. She is survived by her children, Susan Neher of Nampa, and Christopher Neher (Lucy Stevenson) of Stevensville, Montana, two granddaughters, Katherine Neher and Anna Johnston (Louis Johnston), and one great granddaughter (Olive Johnston).

Services for Millie will be held at 11:00 am Friday May 1st at Zion Lutheran Church in Nampa. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Alzheimer's Association or the Zion Lutheran Quilters.