“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”
Mary Anita Selby Miller met Jesus face-to-face July 12, 2023, surrounded by her family. Her entire life was filled with encouraging, loving on, and pointing everyone to Jesus.
Mary Anita was born on July 15, 1934, in Shattuck, Oklahoma, the eldest of Charles and Della Selby’s three girls. She graduated from Perryton High School, class of 1951. She began her undergraduate studies at Panhandle Agricultural and Mechanical College in the fall of 1952, graduating in 1955. While in college, she met her sweetheart of 69 years, CW (Bud) Miller in Guymon, Oklahoma. They were married on August 26, 1954. After marriage, and while living in the married student barracks at Panhandle Agricultural and Mechanical College (now OPSU), they welcomed their first son, Ken in 1957, in Guymon, where Mary Anita worked as a bank teller supporting Bud as a first and secondyear teacher.
In November of 1960, Billy was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma while Bud finished his Masters in Physics and completed his education degree. After an Easter visit to Perryton in 1961, they made the decision to return home to take over the Selby farm so that the legacy of farming would continue into the next generation and not be lost.
Over the next five decades, Mary Anita and Bud worked jointly on the family farm, served faithfully at First Baptist Church of Perryton, and welcomed two daughters-in-law, 12 grandchildren, and 2 grandsons- in-law.
Her greatest joy was to visit and encourage all those around her. Anyone with whom she interacted knew they were loved by Mary Anita. Handwritten notes of prayer reminders and encouragement were her calling card—always signed with a heart and her favorite verse, Proverbs 3:5-6.
Sticker sheets (including notes written on the back) have traveled the globe with Mary Anita’s prayers attached. Treats and gum were always available in the center console of the car. Her family—both by blood and adopted through love—were always her priority.
She and Bud spent countless hours in the car, rain or shine, to support and watch every grandchild, niece, nephew and adopted kiddos in all their activities, sporting events, music recitals, stock shows, and the like.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Della Selby, and a niece Lecreca Schickedanz Taliaferro.
She is survived by her loving husband, Bud, and their sons: Ken and his wife Lisa, Billy and his wife Karen. Her legacy will continue through her grandchildren, Ken’s boys: Austin, Joshua, Daniel, and Andrew; and Billy’s children: Rachel and Vikram Sidhu, Alana and Daniel Elliott, Sarah, Caleb, Asher, Lydia, Shepherd and Nathan; her two sisters: Charleen Schickedanz and husband, Larry, along with their 12 children and grandchildren; Corline Jackson and husband, Grant, along with their 6 children and grandchildren.
A brief memorial service was held at First Baptist Church Perryton at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 15, 2023, followed by a burial at Ochiltree County Cemetery. The family requested that friends and neighbors join them after the burial back at First Baptist Church for an 89th birthday celebration in honor of Granny.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Gideons International, Box 254 Perryton, TX 79070. First Baptist Church Perryton, or another charity of choice.