Mary Lou (Campbell) Miller

Mary Lou (Campbell) Miller, 98, formerly of Central City, passed away on Friday, June 12, 2026,   at her home in Clarks. 
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 22, at Heartland Evangelical Free Church, 3208 17th Ave.,   Central City. Interment will be in the Central City Cemetery, next to her first husband, Dr. John A. Campbell. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Sunday, at Heartland Evangelical Free Church.   Higby-McQuiston Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.     Memorials may be made to the family to designate at a later date. Condolences may be sent to the family through the mortuary website at www.higbymortuary.com.
Mary Lou (Bergstrom) Campbell Miller of Clarks, transitioned to her heavenly home on June 12, 2026 at age 98. 
She is survived by her children: Carla Carlson, Mary (Jeff) Judy, Kathleen (Joe) Schrier, Rebecca (Bryce) Pederson, Dr. John (Stephanie) Campbell, and son-in-law Jon Ruybalid, step-children: Cindy Miller, Jim (Pam) Miller, Jim (Gaylene) Miller, and Mike (Debbie) Miller. She is also survived by 37 grandchildren, 65 great-grandchildren, and sister, Kay Reed. 
She was preceded in death by her first husband, Dr. John Campbell, her second husband Cal Miller, her siblings: Lois Carlson and James Bergstrom, her daughter Beverly Ruybalid, and her son-in-law Curtis Carlson. 
Mary Lou was the name given to the third child of Carl Earl Cornelius and Verna Mabel (Leafgren) Bergstrom. She was born August 30, 1927 in Holdrege.  After completing 8 grades at the local one room school house, she attended Wilcox HS for two years and completed her education at Holdrege. 
Upon graduating from high school, she headed to California to work in the office of a munitions plant where her sister, Lois, was already employed. This move was providential because it was here she heard a clear presentation of the gospel at The Church of the Open Door, and she gave her life to Christ at that time. 
She returned to Nebraska and completed nurse’s training at Bishop Clarkson Memorial Nursing School in Omaha. 
While attending the First Baptist Church of Omaha, she met John Archibald Campbell. After a rather short courtship, he proposed marriage if she was also willing to go to the heart of Africa where he felt called as a missionary doctor. 
They were married on June 12, 1949 at Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Holdrege.  After completing his medical training in 1952, they and daughters Carla and Mary traveled across the Atlantic aboard the SS United States. Their adventures are detailed in the book “Mwasi Na Monganga” or “Wife of the Doctor.” It is a story of God’s provision, goodness, and protection (available on Amazon). 
Two more daughters, Kathleen and Beverly, were born to them in Africa. Due to the dangers caused by political unrest in the Congo, they were evacuated from Tandala in 1960. The Campbells then settled in Central City, where John worked with Dr. Kenneth Treptow at the Litzenberg Memorial Hospital. Here they had two more children, Rebecca and John. 
Because Mary Lou knew our times are in His hands, she bravely faced the death of her young husband in 1968 and asked the Lord to be a “Father to the fatherless.” She hung on to the promise that “He gives more grace when the burdens grow greater,” and she was able to raise their six children in the grace He provided. 
After being a widow for 22 years, the Lord brought Cal Miller into her life, a second man of God who swept her off her feet at age 61. They wedded on June 8, 1989, and were happily married for nearly 30 years before the Lord took him home in 2018. 
Even in her “declining” years, Mary Lou was a testimony to everyone who had the privilege of caring for her. She showed everyone what it looks like to follow Jesus. Her trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross allowed her to have peace in the midst of trials and joy in serving others, pointing them to her Savior. 
The love and sweetness that radiated from her life will be sorely missed, but we who knew her have the privilege of walking in her footsteps, shining the light of the truth of the gospel everywhere we go, just like she did.