Walter Dale Miller, the 29th Governor of South Dakota, was born October 5, 1925 in the unincorporated community of Viewfield in Meade County, South Dakota.
A Meade County rancher, Miller had more years of experience in elected office than any other governor. He served for 20 years as a school board member and was a leader in the Republican Party. Miller served in the State House of Representatives for 20 years. He is the only person in the history of the state to serve as Majority Leader, Assistant Majority Leader, Majority Whip, Speaker of the House, Speaker pro Tempore, and President of the Senate.
In 1986, George S. Mickelson invited Miller to be his running mate. After the Mickelson-Miller team was elected, Miller made history when he became the state’s first full-time lieutenant governor. That experience became important on April 19, 1993, when Governor Mickelson died with seven others in a crash of the state airplane. Miller was the first lieutenant governor in South Dakota’s history to succeed to the governorship upon the death of his predecessor. At the age of 67, he was also the oldest governor in state history.
Governor Miller demonstrated his ability to be “cool in a crisis.” He led the state through the sudden and tragic loss of Governor Mickelson, and secured funding for the creation of the Fighting Stallions Memorial. He ended a riot at the state penitentiary, in which over 200 inmates took control and set fire to prison buildings, without loss of life or giving into the inmate’s demands. He responded to historic flooding of the Missouri River and its tributaries in 1993. And when the State Supreme Court declared video lottery to be unconstitutional, Governor Miller responded to the sudden budget shortfall with $28 million in emergency budget cuts and the use of emergency reserves.
Governor Miller was one of only four governors from West River. After leaving office in 1995, he continued to be active in his family’s ranch, while residing in Ft. Pierre. Miller died on September 28, 2015 while visiting Dallas, Texas. He was interred at Viewfield Cemetery, near his ranch.
Miller’s first wife, Mary, died in 1989. He married Patricia Caldwell on July 4, 1993, making him the first governor to be married while in office. Pat Miller carries forth Walt’s legacy, as an active participant in South Dakota government, and an advocate for history. She currently serves as Secretary of the Senate, and previously served as Deputy Secretary of State. Pat is President of the Board of Directors of the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, and serves on the Trail of Governors Foundation board.
This post is adapted, in part, from the biography this blogger wrote for the Trail of Governors.
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