Mille Naff 08/01/2012

Mildred “Mille” Naff was born in Olathe, Kansas, to a mother who was a housekeeper and a father who owned and operated a boot and shoe company. (His father is said to be the original creator of the cowboy boot.) Mille went to school there in Olathe, and grew up in a small-town, country atmosphere. At age eighteen, she earned her pilot’s license, much to her parents’ chagrin, and graduated high school in 1940. From there, she attended Virginia Intermont College, a well-respected liberal arts school, but about a year later, she transferred to Kansas University (KU). That same year at KU, she met her husband-to-be, John, and they married the next fall. Mille took a few classes, but shifted her focus to her marriage. In 1949, after the war and after John completed his PhD, they moved to Stillwater. In her interview, Mille recalls growing up in Kansas, raising her family, living in Stillwater, and the lifelong friendships she has made along the way.