Iowa grandfather ordained to priesthood for North Dakota diocese

Published: 2006-03-07

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNS) -- As a young man, Mike Millard had always known that he wanted to have a family of his own someday, and so had never really considered a vocation to the religious life. However, that changed Jan. 26, when the 64-year-old widowed grandfather of seven was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Bismarck, N.D., by Bishop Paul A. Zipfel. Growing up on a farm in western Iowa, Father Millard attended a one-room schoolhouse through the eighth grade, graduated from high school in 1959, served in the Navy and met his future wife, Nancy Weber, on a blind date while a senior at the University of Iowa. The couple married and were blessed with four children -- three daughters and a son -- before Nancy died of cancer in 1989. Their son was only 6 when his mother died. In 1995 the widower began thinking about joining the priesthood. "I saw how busy our local priest was and knew I wanted to do more than just volunteer my time," Father Millard told The Witness, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

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