Alverna Edna Sprick Miller, wife of William Miller

Brother met Alverna Edna Sprick (July 23, 1924-April 24, 2006), a schoolteacher and native of Lake City, Minn., in West Germany after the war. They were officially married (under West German law) on Feb. 14, 1953 by the Burgermeister (mayor) of Schwabisch Hall/Hessenthal, West Germany. Their formal wedding was held on April 18, 1953, at the Army Post Chapel at Dolan Barracks, Hessenthal, West Germany, by Chaplain McCurtis W. Allison, first lieutenant, 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. They honeymooned in Wengen, Switzerland, then settled into a tiny place over a butcher shop in Schwabisch Hall/Hessenthal.

The smitten couple in Berchesgarten, West Germany, in the early 1950s. Brother wrote for his grandson Noah:

On our first date, we went bowling with friends. We liked going to German movies and then to Ableitner's, a little German Gasthouse with red-checked tableclothes where we'd eat chocolate-covered bananas and drink coffee or wine. I'd always hoped I'd find someone like your grandmother who would marry me, but I hadn't been sure that I would.

Sgt. 1st Class William Alton Miller and his fiancee, Alverna Edna Sprick, from Lake City, Minn.

Alverna soon met Brother's relatives and friends. Here she posed with Marilyn, Doodle and Cissie in Winston-Salem.

Bill and Alverna took a siesta during a family vacation around Lake Superior in the early 1970s. No doubt their three children, Pamela, Chris and Cathy, were nearby.

Playing cards with grandsons Noah Miller Johnson and Zachary William Miller at Castle Haven along the North Shore of Lake Superior in the early 1990s.

Alverna and Bill Miller in the 1990s, when they enjoyed retirement in Old Frontenac, Minn. Bill died of malignant melanoma on March 1, 1996. Alverna was killed in a car accident near Read's Landing, Minn., on April 24, 2006. Their children and grandchildren will never forget them.

Alverna in 2004, when she turned 80, with children Chris, Pam and Cathy.