Died: 26 September 2021
Mildred (Milly) Jean Archambeau, of Mayville, ND, left this world on 26 September 2021. She was born on 9 February 1936 to Noah (Sam) and Luetta Trauger in Mandan, ND. She grew up with her five siblings.
She married Charles Archambeau on 1 May 1965 and from this union came two sons, Steve and Doug. They raised their sons in the Phillipines and California, eventually moving back home to Elgin. Milly loved her time in the Phillipines and decorated her homes with the beautiful pieces she collected while living there.
Milly had a truly amazing capacity for loving the people around her, and she showed this love in its purest form: food. Milly’s kitchen skills were legendary, from her pancit to her homemade chocolate cake. Every gathering with family or friends would be sure to have her potato salad, and her cookies were the most anticipated Christmas gift of the year. It was an honor to take some of her leftovers home, but you’d better return that dish! One of her favorite food stories to tell was of hiding exactly two green beans in her dog’s dinner and the picky pooch ate everything and left those two green beans in her dish, licked clean.
A visit with Milly would be full of two things: delicious snacks and wonderful conversation. Milly loved to regale her guests with stories from her youth riding horses, her cat Mischief who lived up to her name, and watching (and sometimes joining in on) the shenanigans of her brothers, cousins, and sons growing up. She loved John Wayne, camping, and pinochle. Milly’s pinochle game was nearly impossible to beat, even by her grandchildren who learned the game from the master, herself. Her strongest competition were her grandsons, Jake and Jesse; many nights were spent debating the bids set and the hands played. Milly also collected salt and pepper shaker sets of every size, shape, and color and would change them out on her shelves according to seasons and holidays, a favorite activity she shared with her great grandson, Mason.
Eventually moving to Mayville, Milly adored her grandkids and great grandkids and was always eager to have them over. No child was ever too big to sit on Gramma Milly’s lap, and she always had a cookie or fudge bar ready to sneak when the parents weren’t looking. Her grandkids have so many happy memories with her.
Milly was preceded in death by her parents; her son Steve; siblings Roseanne, Kenny, Margaret, and Calvin; and her great grandson Jax. She is survived by her brother, Paul Trauger; her loving son, Doug; Doug’s children Cody Archambeau, Ciara (Preston) Paulsen, Chloe Archambeau, and Camden Archambeau; and by Steve’s wife, Kelly, and their children Josh Raywalt, Ashton (Curtis) Raywalt, Jake (Courtney) Archambeau, Jesse (Jessica) Archambeau, Jon (Shelby) Raywalt, and Kenneth Ferguson. She also leaves behind 10 great grandchildren: Mary, Austin, Miles, Sarah, Caleb, Mason, Axel, Knox, and Hazel. Milly also had many nieces and nephews. Milly was especially close to her niece, Donella Michelson, and they spent many happy hours talking and laughing. She also loved visits from her special granddaughter Danyel Miller.
A Celebration of Milly’s Life will be held at Jaycee Park Hall 321E Century Avenue in Bismarck on 16 October 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
Milly is pictured in the 4th edition of the Friedrich Seidemann Family Tree Book on page 383 with her parents and siblings. She is listed on page 402 with her husband, their children, and their grandchildren. She is a 5th generation descendant of Friedrich and Rosina Seidemann and her genealogy line is as follows: Friedrich, Carl, Rosa, Luetta, and Mildred.