Rudy Miller known as Rudolph Salomon Windmüller at birth was born on June 4, 1903 to parents Karl and Emma Windmüller in Duisburg-Beeck a town near Gelsenkirchen in Nordheim, Westphalia, Germany. His mother was born Emma Spier. The Windmüller’s made their home in Gelsenkirchen where they had a store, with the family name of Windmüller. In 1937, in face of growing anti-Semitism, and harassment by police, who began tracking his travel movements, he managed to leave Germany on a visa to Cuba, and then made his way to Buffalo, NY. In Buffalo he became a furniture buyer for Maisel Furniture, a job he maintained throughout his life. Married three times, his first marriage to Ilse Meyer was annulled. His second marriage to Elsie Kramer, was cut short by her death from cancer in 1949. During their marriage, they adopted a small boy, whom they name David. Rudy Miller married Hilde Mueller, whom he met at Breezy Hill, a German-Jewish holiday resort in the Catskills, where Hilde Mueller worked during the summer. This led to fatherhood again, with the birth of Evelyn Adele Miller in 1951. A talented artist and musician, he also played and performed in the Jewish Community Center Orchestra. He died on July 5, 1966 in New York City on a business trip for Maisel Furniture. He is buried in Lot 278, section Z at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY.

Hilde Miller, nee Mueller [Müller], was born in Siegburg, Nordheim, Westphalia, Germany on September 24, 1913, to parents Leo and Adele [née Fröhlich/Froehlich] Müller. Hilde lived with her parents into her early 20s, except for a brief spell in Paris as a teenager. Also part of the Müller household was Adele Müller’s brother Edward Fröhlich, also known as Uncle Edvard. Edvard working in a tanning business, connected to the shoe store, L. Fröhlich, Schuhwaren-Haus that Leo Müller ran in two different locations, one of which was located in Siegburg. As a result of increasing anti-semitic legislation, Leo and Adele Müller were eventually forced to close their shoe store, and were deported to a concentration camp, with Edward Fröhlich. Neither Leo and Adele Müller, nor Edward Fröhlich, survived the Holocaust.

In November 1938, after Kristallnacht, Hilde was able to obtain a domestic service visa for England, and left via Holland chaperoned by her father. Leo Müller then returned to his wife Adele Müller in Germany. During the late 1930s until 1942, Hilde received letters, and later Red Cross telegrams through 1942. While in England she lived with Max and Miriam Waldenberg as a maid, although she referred to both “The Guvnor,” Max Waldenberg, and Miriam Waldenberg as foster parents. This close relationship continued throughout her life, with visits to the United States by them and their children at various times. It was Miriam Waldenberg who encouraged Hilde Müller to move to the US after the death of Rudy Falkenstein in 1946. After a short few weeks in North Dakota with a Mueller [US/UK spelling] family relative, she moved to New York City, holding several jobs at the Tell Chocolate Factory and the Lerner Stores of NY. During the summer she also worked at a German-Jewish holiday resort in the Catskills, called Breezy Hill, where she eventually met Rudy S. Miller. They married in 1950 and welcomed their daughter, Evelyn Miller in 1951. In 1953, Hilde Miller was naturalized in Buffalo.

Until 1961, Hilde Miller was a stay at home mother for children David (from Rudy’s former marriage) and Evelyn. In 1961, when Rudy Miller suffered a heart attack, Hilde Miller began working at L. L. Berger, a high-end Department Store in Buffalo, as a gift wrapper. Soon after Rudy Miller died, she obtained a job at the University at Buffalo, Blood Group Research Unit, Department of Microbiology, in the School of Medicine located at Sherman Hall, which she retained until her retirement. Thereafter, she volunteered for Kosher Meals on Wheels deliveries as well as looking after her grandchildren. Hilda Mueller died on May 27, 2009, and is buried at Forest Lawn, Buffalo, NY.