Millie Ilene Nieuwsma-Buekea, beloved Wife, Mother, and Grandmother, passed away peacefully at the Marquis Newberg Care Center in Newberg, Oregon on the morning of February 3, 2017. She was 61 years old when she went with The Lord. Millie was born in Linton, North Dakota on February 19, 1955. She was the fourth and youngest child of Peter and Johanna (Nicolay) Nieuwsma. Her siblings are John Edward "Ed", Janet "Jan", and Raymond "Ray". Millie grew up on the Great Plains of North Dakota on a homestead named the "Home Sweet Home Farm", located seven miles southeast of Strasburg, ND. As an infant she was baptized in the Strasburg Reformed Church, where she attended Sunday School and made her Confirmation of faith as a teenager. She attended a small, rural country school through fourth grade, and later graduated from Strasburg Public High School in 1973, earning the distinction of Valedictorian. Millie loved the arts, was involved in drama, choir, band, and the school newspaper. She was a skilled piano and clarinet player. Millie attended North Dakota State University after high school and graduated with a B.A. in Humanities and Social Sciences, with a minor in Communications. She was an editor for NDSU's school newspaper, wrote movie critiques she loved going to movies, and was actively involved in cultural research. She met her future husband, Francis, while attending NDSU. After graduating from college, Millie travelled to Truk (Chuuk), Micronesia where she and Francis were married in March of 1979. There, she worked as a civilian contractor for the US Navy as a secretary for the Office in Charge of Construction (OICC), was a school counselor at Truk High School, taught English at the Community College of Micronesia, and started the island's very first newspaper called "Truk Chronicle". In 1983, Millie and Francis moved back to the United States with their first son, Peter, and pursued further education. She attended graduate school at North Dakota State University; University of California, Santa Barbara; and the University of Oregon. While attending graduate school at NDSU, she was involved in fieldwork and interviews with people from various walks of life. She listened to their stores and helped create the "Folklore Collection" which is housed in the NDSU Institute for Regional Studies. While at the U of O she worked toward attaining a Master's Degree in Anthropology and was also a Graduate Teaching Assistant. She later taught courses in Cultural Anthropology at Portland Community College, as well as additional specialized courses on Micronesia. Millie was an avid researcher and enthusiast of different cultures. She was always interested in learning about the people she met. Her genuine love of people and civilizations from around the globe lead her into the field of foreign exchange students. For over twenty years, Millie was a regional academic coordinator, working for the Center for Cultural Interchange (CCI) and the Northwest Student Exchange (NWSE). She was a devoted mother to her children, as well as the hundreds of foreign exchange students that she worked with. She dedicated her life to helping these students and worked to find the best host families for them. Often times she was the top representative within her company, placing the highest number of exchange students in the nation sometimes working with more than thirty students per year! Her dedication and commitment was inspirational to all who knew her, and her eyes would light up whenever she talked about her role to promote intercultural and international partnership. Her passion even led her back to school in her 50's to continue her research at Portland State University where she took classes in immigration issues, and even tried her hand in creative screen writing, which she really enjoyed. Millie gave all that she could for the wellbeing of others, and if there were challenges to overcome, she would find the solution. She was a natural caregiver. Millie loved The Lord, and was positive and optimistic throughout her life. She was sassy and knew how to make people laugh. She was creative, funny, intelligent, courageous, and one tough cookie. Millie will be dearly missed by all who knew her. Millie was preceded in death by her parents Peter (2011) and Johanna (2012). She is survived by her husband Francis Buekea; children Peter Buekea, Kiara Siex (husband Dayne), Nicholas Buekea (fianc Sarah); grandson Brayden; and her siblings and their families Ed & Anne Nieuwsma, Jan & Russ Melby, and Ray & Chris Nieuwsma.