Milly Rose Zellmer

Once upon a time, in a not too far off kingdom, a beautiful little blue-eyed princess was welcomed into the Zellmer and Dunkin family. 

Princess Milly Rose Zellmer made her appearance on January 24, 2018, to daddy Andy and mommy Kristi (Dunkin) Zellmer. 

To welcome this sweet bundle of pink home were brothers Kelby, Grady, and sister Everly. 

In five enchanted years, Milly won the hearts of everyone she met and radiated the room with her contagious smile, her beautiful blue eyes, and the cutest dimples in all the land. 

I’m sure Milly “Moo” would give a big thumbs up as we tell you all about our girl. 

Milly wasn’t your typical five-year-old.  As a toddler, wrestling and building forts with her siblings were a daily occurrence. Her love of sports came quickly as she followed her siblings in their sport activities and everyone in the stands knew who our girl was.  

She LOVED soccer. One could describe her as a determined and aggressive player. One game her coaches might have suggested she let others score, but this was not happening! Our fierce little champion scored seven goals in one game as the sidelines of family and friends exploded with excitement. 

Milly was born into an Iowa Hawkeye loving family so as soon as she could recognize her colors, she knew to cheer for the black and gold and let everyone know she was a Hawkeye fan! 

She enjoyed spending countless hours looking at family pictures and videos on her parents’ phone but was most intrigued about seeing photos of herself at the age of three. She was an adorable three-year-old!  A favorite pastime would be calling people on her little iPad, taking videos of herself, and forwarding them.  These will forever be our precious videos. 

Milly loved the game Roblox and enjoyed playing it with her best friend in the whole world, Rhett.  

Milly had no problem making friends. She loved her babysitter Kathy and all her daycare friends and enjoyed making new friends while attending preschool at Lincoln Elementary in Pella. She adored her furry dog friends, Haddy and Humphrey, and would play with them for hours on end.

Although an active and outgoing little lady, she valued her quiet routines.  Every night daddy would carry her to bed on his shoulders singing “Tooty Ta”, while mommy would be waiting with her favorite book and rocking her to sleep, singing “Angel” by Jack Johnson and humming to her music machine after the singing was done.  Most nights Milly would roll over once laid in bed and say “I love you Mommy”   

Milly loved all books.  She memorized “Going on a Bear Hunt” and could recite it perfectly, word for word.  She loved all the “Little Blue Truck Books” and a favorite “What a Wonderful World.” 

Yes, Milly Rose gave us a wonderful world.  

Milly Rose was blessed with a large loving family who loved her beyond measure.

She and Grandma Sheila shared every Wednesday together.  A very serious “match” game would be played and occasionally a suggestion from Milly would be, “let’s organize the pantry today”.  The pantry was one of her favorite places to be.  It housed all her favorite cereal when she was a little one and was currently the hiding place for all her favorite candy. 

Papa Randy loved to tease her by calling her Willy.  She held her ground and would respond with a giggle, “That’s NOT my name!” Whenever he knew he would be seeing Willy he had a pocketful of Dum Dums and Smarties. Golf cart rides through Bussey to see the secret witches house and the house full of trolls will always be a favorite memory between Papa and Milly.  

Milly loved her vacation memories with Grandma Kim and Papa Roger.  She spent hours in the sun singing and dancing with them in the Bahamas and enjoyed her first canoeing adventure with them last summer.  They always loved how generous she was with her hugs.

Milly was always asking when Grandma Deb would be back to visit and loved sitting on the couch reading her books.  She called her daily on her iPad.  Milly had no rules when it came to wanting to talk, and would make the call no matter the time of day.

Visiting the Bussey area was always the most requested trip. A highlight stop was the loving lap awaiting her at Great Grandma Rose’s house. The quiet bond between the two was felt by all.

This was a win-win road trip for Milly as Bussey is home to Grandma Pat. The two enjoyed a good afternoon of colorful conversations.

Outside Bussey is another location Milly enjoyed immensely. Weekends at Uncle Jay, Aunt Les, and cousin Megan’s always brought her so much joy. It would be difficult to know who loved who more.

On a snowy Thursday, February 16, 2023, Milly put on her pink Peppa Pig boots, gave her mommy a hug and our spunky, blue eyed, sweet little dimpled, five-year-old darling set out to play in the snow with the biggest smile on her face.  Milly’s job on earth was soon complete and she touched more lives in her 5 years than most people do in their entire lifetime.  

Milly Rose is survived by her parents, Andrew and Kristi Zellmer of Pella; her siblings, Kelby, Grady, and Everly; her grandparents, Randy and Sheila Dunkin of Bussey, Kim and Roger Zellmer of Bussey, and Debra Jackson and Dominic Hudson of Arkansas.  Milly Rose is survived by her great grandmother and middle namesake, Rose Self and Patricia Burk, both of Bussey; her aunts and uncles, Kurt (Heather) Dunkin of Hamilton, Andy (Stacie) Dunkin of Knoxville, Brandyn (Niki) Zellmer of Iowa City, Adam Zellmer of Arkansas, and Stephanie Clark (Kelby) of Albia.  She is also survived by another generation of loving great aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends. 

Holding her hands in heaven are her great grandparents, Don and Sandra Zellmer, Bud Burk, Donna Harlow, Marion Self, and Margaret and Albert Dunkin. 

Please continue to celebrate the little life of our sweet Milly and remember her whenever you see her favorite color pink, eating an excessive amount of donut holes, squeezing a Minnie Mouse pillow, watching Daniel Tiger on TV, seeing a soccer ball or hearing one of her favorite songs:   “Shivers” by Ed Sheeran; “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga, “Sunroof” by Nicky Youre, and a favorite memory for us will be, “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” by Elle King and Miranda Lambert.  Milly sang this loud and proud while walking into her Christian Pre-School last year. 

We love you forever Milly Rose Zellmer, you’ll always be our baby. 

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.