Mildred Probst

April 3, 1921 - Sept. 4, 2013

Together Again

Mildred Probst will be missed.

The young red-haired Millie Taylor, who was renowned for her ability to dance on skates, did not know that she was about to meet her future husband in a most unusual way. The young, dashing Voris Probst had been watching Millie skate for some time. He did not know how to skate but assumed he could do anything and rented some skates at the rink so he could ask Millie to dance.

Unfortunately skating was not one of his talents. He slid up to Millie to speak with her and immediately locked his skate with hers, causing them both to fall. Really fall. Millie was stunned. She never fell while skating - and who was this guy who ran into her?

It took more than a year for Millie and Voris to fall in love and elope. Unfortunately this was just the time when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Their agreement was that Voris would enlist in the U.S. Navy and Millie would go to work in the shipyards. Voris and Millie worked out a code in their letters so that she would know if he had been injured or seen action.

She followed the fleet back and forth across the country to meet Voris whenever he came to a United States port. This was the way they began their marriage, which would last for more than 60 years.

After the war Millie and Voris began their adventures in the timber industry, living in remote places in a trailer Voris built. They had made a plan. They were going to build a home and a family. The family started first, so the home was an important priority. Voris and his father built a home to Millie's design in Corvallis.

The family expanded, so Millie and Voris moved into the unfinished house before they expected to do so. Eventually the home was completed with a knotty pine kitchen with all pink appliances, a black and blue bathroom, a patio shaped like a grand piano and a fireplace of stone that covered one wall. It was the good life of the '50s.

Their adventures continued. Eventually Millie and Voris bought a plane and they both became pilots. This allowed them to hopscotch across the hundreds of miles between work and home. They did have one hair-raising experience with their plane. On a moonless Halloween trip to Madras from Corvallis, a factory defect caused a complete shutdown of their engine. They were forced to land in a darkened forest, which was impossible.

Fortunately Voris saw a reflection of the Metolius River and was able to maneuver the plane onto the water, which was three feet deep. Millie said he landed just like a duck. Once they were down all they could do was laugh. The photo and story was picked up on the wire services and spread across the country and armed services newspapers around the world.

Millie developed another talent. She could make wedding cakes like skyscrapers. On occasion they had champagne fountains incorporated into them. They were breathtaking to behold. Millie volunteered at the Red Cross, bringing in people with special blood types for immediate surgeries.

And she was invited to join the Women's Club, where she accomplished many fundraisers for causes the club had chosen to support. Her photo was often in the local papers and she enjoyed the service to the community.

Amazingly, Millie and Voris decided to move to Livingston, Mont., where an opportunity in the timber industry was an offer they could not refuse. This may have been one of the most playful, downright Western towns they had ever lived in. They did everything. They trekked with mules to a place Millie and Voris had seen from the air that was an undiscovered petrified forest.

They contributed to a prank that included moving a standing frozen cow onto a friend's front yard - he got them back by serving a steak to them from the cow at the following summer's barbeque. They mined sapphires and gold, which they made into jewelry. They had a huge number of friends with whom they camped, fished and hunted. It was a good place for them to be at the time.

And then another call of change came. Voris was called to run the sawmill in St. Helens.

Boise wanted him to upgrade and computerize the mill while never shutting down the plant, all while continuing to make a profit. A big challenge, but Millie and Voris had a plan. They wanted to build another home, and that is just what they did.

They found some forestland on the ridgeline above Columbia City and began building their dream. A road had to be built, water found, a house site decided upon, and then a home built. Once again Millie planned her dream house. She chose everything - top to bottom - except for Voris' automatic flushing urinal. That was his first stop when showing people around the house.

Millie loved her new home. She grew orchids, collected rolling pins and cookbooks, as well as gathering collections of her other favorite things. What we all remember is that she made the best pies on the planet - and she could do it in high heels, just like Donna Reed.

We all loved to play pranks on her because she would scream bloody murder when she found a fake head in her turkey pan at 5 a.m. on Thanksgiving. It is impossible not to laugh again while remembering all the pranks that were played on her.

Secretly, we think she liked them.

Both Millie and Voris involved themselves in many service activities. Voris was chosen as First Citizen of Columbia County at one point - and although he deserved it, what we all know is that behind every man of achievement is a good woman, and he always gave credit to his redhead. During this time Millie and Voris traveled internationally, which included Europe and Asia.

They continued working on the development of their land in order to sell a few parcels to others who would like to build a home. It was their Shangri-La. The road to their home is Miloris, a combination of their names. After more than 60 years and many adventures together, Voris passed on May 3, 2006.

Millie enjoyed seven more years in the beautiful home they built together, with its breathtaking views of the Columbia River. Now, Millie and Voris are together again.

Mildred C. Probst (Taylor) was preceded in death by her husband, Voris D. Probst; father, John L. Taylor; mother, Adeline Taylor (Ellison); and six of seven siblings.

Millie is survived by her daughter, Alana Probst of St. Helens; son, Brad Probst of Hoskins; granddaughter Ashley Probst-Smith of Monroe; elder sister, Ann Domogalla of California; several sisters-in-law; numerous nieces and nephews; their children; as well as her best friend, Loretta Wallace, who skated with Millie before she even met Voris.

In lieu of flowers, any offerings in her name can be made to the Humane Society or Meals on Wheels. Millie Probst will be missed by many.