Ms. Leah Grace Miller Borntreger, (nee Thompson) of Elkhart, gracefully and peacefully made her exit from this realm and into her Savior's hands after 95 years of a beautifully well-lived life.  Her passing took place on Thursday, October 31, 2024 at 12:55 pm at the Elkhart Place Assisted Living Center in Elkhart.

Leah was born in rural Cass County, Michigan on March 15, 1929 to the late Daniel A. and Jennie E. (Rine) Thompson. Sadly, Leah's father Daniel passed away while Leah was still very young, and mama Jennie wound up remarrying Lester E. Bellows, who seamlessly stepped into Daniel's role as dad and raised her with love and care for the remainder of his life.

Leah is survived by her three loving sons, Roger A. (Christina "Tina" Hoell) Miller of Tillamook, Oregon, Douglas R. "Doug" (Pamela) Miller of Anderson, Indiana and David B. (Patricia "Patty" Peterson) Miller of Bristol, Indiana; her sister Patricia (Jerry) Pickrell of Elkhart, Indiana; grandchildren Brett C. Miller of Elkhart and Gregory J. (Rebecca) Miller, April L. (Zack) Webb and Candice (Kent) Reynolds, all of Anderson and great grand children Lillian, Madeline, Aurora, Scarlet, Emma, Chloe, Gio, Alayna, Vincent and Mia.  Additionally, Leah is survived by a loving host of extended family, her church family and a lifetime of friends and acquaintances. Along with her parents, she is preceded in death by her brother, Verl Thompson, and a grandson, Shane Miller.

Billings Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Elkhart is honored to host the celebration Leah's life and times beginning with a gathering of family and friends on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 from 11 am until 1 pm. Following that, Leah's service will begin at 1:00 pm, filled with memories and blessings and officiated by pastor Grant Humbarger. Burial will follow services at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Bristol. Billings Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Elkhart have been assisting the family with Leah's arrangements.

Besides raising a family with three boys, Leah took on several jobs throughout her life, but one that stood out was the nearly decade-and-a-half stint at Elkhart's Strauss Pies as the business's bookkeeper. Her sons would joke about those "sweet" times growing up where mom would bring home anything and everything that was over a day old and facing being thrown out. She also kept herself busy with doing crafts like crocheting, knitting, raising dozens of flowers each year in her garden's flower beds and volunteering for the American Cancer Society. Additionally, she was a proud member of the Delta Theta Chi Sorority, a non-profit philanthropic fraternal organization founded in 1920 dedicated to the promotion of cultural education, literacy advocacy and breast cancer awareness. She was also an accomplished piano player.

Leah's two biggest loves in her life were her children and her church. The "boys" remember her as a devoted mom, fiercely protective, and highly motivated to be "fair", as in, "no son got a better deal from mom than any of the others". In other words, she had plenty of love to go around, but playing "favorites" was never part of her plan. Holidays were especially enchanting in Leah's home, where elegant and graceful holiday-specific decorations would be set out throughout the house. Obviously, Christmas was the house favorite. Again, her sons would reminisce that no one received a better present than another, and there were always plenty of new socks to go around! Leah also had a highly developed sense of "family" and always made it a point to regularly round up the kids and go visit Grandma (Jennie) Bellows.

Her other love was her church and for the grace and salvation for which it stood. Leah's family recollects that she had been attending the First Central Christian Church of Michiana for at least 75 years, beginning way back when it was the old Elkhart Central Christian Church on Franklin Street. She of course was much more active in her younger years (she spent many years in the choir and as choir director) but the importance of what her church represented to her never waned.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked to make donations to the Delta Theta Chi National Memorial Scholarship, Attn: Cindi Cook, 2614 South Lulu Street, Wichita, KS 67216-1234.