Belinda Miller Stockton, 70, Orofino

Born September 3, 1952 in Pascagoula, Mississippi to Gordon and Shirley Miller, Belinda moved to Sumrall, Mississippi when she was four years old and went through school there alongside her brother, Aaron and sister, Charlotte.

She had fond memories of her southern childhood and often told stories of her siblings and her nannie, Ms. Mary and how much she loved and encouraged her throughout her early life. She was an excellent student, making straight A’s and was the Salutatorian of her Sumrall High School class. She liked to say she only missed Valedictorian by .05 by someone who moved in midterm! She graduated from the University of South Mississippi with a degree in Medical Technology. She worked at Cleveland (Mississippi) Hospital in Hematology, was the Director of Immunology and Hematology, and Chemistry supervisor at Anderson Memorial Hospital in Meridian, Mississippi.

She moved to Orofino, Idaho in what she jokingly called the “Mississippi Migration” in 1977. She started work at Clearwater Valley Hospital and became the lab manager, working up to the day of her diagnosis, almost 46 years.

Belinda married Mike Stockton March 23,1985. She, Belinda Miller Stockton, 70, Orofino worked full time at the hospital and also loved to be with Mike in the woods while he was hunting and working as an Outfitter. She could ride a mule and shoot big and small game, always up for adventure.

They started their own outfitting business and settled on the edge of Eureka Ridge with a gorgeous view of the Clearwater River and Dworshak Reservoir that made her happy every day.

Belinda was an avid gardener, a lover of nature and animals and blessed with a green thumb. She had a beautiful garden with a house and yard full of a rainbow of blooms and foliage.

Belinda enjoyed being outside but also had a creative vision and was a gifted artist and seamstress. She had a love of books and was an avid reader. She often reread books that touched her heart and wrote daily meditations for inspiration and positivity.

Belinda was the definition of a “do-er.” She was active in her community not just in her service as a medical professional but she volunteered in Girl Scouts, the Foundation Emergency Mission committee, serving poor and needy children as chair of the Christmas Wishing Tree Project and Scholarship Committee, was an essential part of the Clearwater Memorial Public Library Annex project. She was the secretary and later president of the Orofino Rotary Chapter and a member of the local P.E.O. In all these things she was an integral part of fundraising and active in all community events.

She co-instructed a phlebotomy class for 25 years and introduced many young and old students to laboratory science and beyond. She was an amazing teacher and had a passion for inspiring others to learn.

It would be impossible to list all of her amazing qualities and achievements, she was loved by all who knew her, and she loved deeply for all the people she called hers.

Belinda left this world on April 23, 2023 after a short but valiant fight with brain cancer. She was surrounded by her husband of 39 years, Mike, and her bonus children Arby and Kathleen Shown and Iola Plank.

A celebration of life will be held on June 3rd, 2023 at the Life Center Church, 69 US 12, Kamiah ID 83536 at 10:30 a.m. The service will be live streamed for those who would like to attend remotely.

In lieu of flowers a donation can be made to the Rotary Star Scholarship c/o Rotary Foundation P.O. Box 482, Orofino, ID 83544.