Mildred Dahmen Thill

Mildred V. Dahmen Thill

Mildred Virginia Thill, 97, died peacefully Thursday morning April 14, 2022 at Good Samaritan Assisted Living in Moscow, Idaho.  She was born April 1, 1925 to John and Agnus (Keller) Dahmen on a farm located on Bald Butte outside of Colton, Washington.   She was the 10th in a family of 15. (The first born were a set of twins that died in infancy.)

Around the age of 10 her family relocated to Uniontown, Washington leaving behind grain harvests to start a dairy farm.  Mom continued to live in Uniontown until 2010.  Her dad commissioned Frank Wolf Sr. to assist him in building what is now known as the Dahmen Barn.  She distinctly remembers her dad telling her to “stop running around or she’d fall and hurt herself” on the newly built foundation and floor.  True to her fun loving nature, she continued running and fell, skinning her knees and hands.   After the barn was completed the family went on to raise dairy cows and provided many 10-gallon containers of milk to Lewiston, Idaho daily.  Her job was to clean the milk room, which she disliked immensely, as it had to be kept very cold.  Her dad was told many times that he had the cleanest milk around.  (We think it had something to do with mom’s ability to keep things very neat, clean and tidy!)

Her education started at St. Boniface grade and high school in Uniontown.  After graduation she went to work for Higgins Drug Store in Pullman, Washington.   She spoke daily with Nurse’s making purchases for local doctors’ offices, and when she showed an interest in nursing, those same nurses gave her information on the Army Nurse Cadet Corps.  She applied and was accepted into the last group of students as WWII ended.  Soon after she started her education at St. Ignatius Hospital in Colfax, Washington, the nursing school closed.  She then transferred to Sacred Heart School of Nursing in Spokane, Washington graduating in the Spring of 1948.  The following year she was honored by Sister Magdalen, the director of the School of Nursing, to represent Florence Nightingale at the solemn ritual of capping and the receiving of capes.  

On September 14, 1948 she married Cecil E. Thill at St. Boniface Church.  They made their home in Uniontown where Cecil worked for the Uniontown Co-op for years, and she enjoyed her time raising their three children: Joan, Donn and Carol.  She was an active member of the St. Boniface Altar Society and American Legion Auxiliary.  At the annual church bazaar and sausage feed, you could find her working in the kitchen area of the local Community Building.   Canning, cooking, reading, sewing, gardening and baking filled in the remainder of her time.  

Over the years, Milli and Cecil enjoyed spending time at “Cecil’s Hideaway” in Harrison, Idaho, boating, and entertaining family and friends.   When not at the lake, they loved traveling to Fairmont Hot Springs Canada, Las Vegas, the Bahamas, Palm Springs, Hawaii, family camping trips and more.

Surviving are her three children, Joan (Gary) Hermann of Colton, WA, Carol (Bruce) Morrison of Baker City, OR, and Donn and Dorothy Thill of Moscow, ID.  She also leaves six grandchildren: Greg Hermann, Debi Hermann Babb, Troy Thill, Tobias Thill, Kathryn Thill McCall, John Thill and 18 great grandchildren:  Mia, Natalie and Neil Hermann, Angela and Brady Thill, Reuben and Brenden Thill, Grasyn and Bently Beloit, Kyla, Tristan and Mason McCall, Alice, Kit, Sawyer, Juniper and Adeline Thill and Leila Rudzinis along with her sister Carolyn (Omer) Entel of Spokane.  She was preceded in death by her husband Cecil in 2005, granddaughter Tracy Thill in 1992 and great granddaughter Leah Thill in 1999.  She also was preceded in death by her siblings Margaret Dahmen Kinzer, Dorothy Dahmen Busch, Lucy Dahmen Thill, Verna Dahmen Powers, Florence Dahmen Grimm, Lillian Dahmen Bauer, and Claude, Daniel, Cletus, Jack and Roland Dahmen.

A Rosary will be recited at 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 22, at St. Boniface Church in Uniontown, Washington with the Funeral Mass following at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow at St Boniface Catholic Cemetery in Uniontown. Reception will be at the Uniontown Community Center. 

Viewing at Shorts Funeral Chapel on Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. both days.

The family is very thankful for the kind and compassionate care provided to mom by the third floor staff at Good Samaritan Moscow, Idaho and Elite Home Health.

 The family suggests memorials to St. Boniface Endowment Fund or to a charity of the donor’s choice. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mildred Dahmen Thill, please visit our floral store.