Iva Miller was the first was Jim Thorpe whose birth name was James Francis Thorpe an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist.
A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics.
Meet Iva Miller, Jim Thorpe’s first wife
Iva Miller is known to be the first wife of Jim Thorpe. She got married to her husband in 1913, at Carlisle, Thorpe was 25 years and she was 20 years.
And together, they bought a house now known as the Jim Thorpe House in Yale, Oklahoma, and lived there until 1923, where they had four children a son and three daughters, namely Jim Thorpe Jr, Gale, Charlotte, and Grace Frances, an environmentalist, and Native rights activist. She then filed for divorce from her husband Thorpe in 1925, claiming desertion.
Her son Jim Thorpe, Jr. was 3 years when he died. He died in 1918 from infantile paralysis. Infantile paralysis was the term used for what is now called polio, a viral disease.
Iva Margaret Miller was born on August 24, 1893, in Pryor, Mayes, Oklahoma, United States, to her parents, her father James Finis Miller, who was then at his 40, and her mother, Martha M Denton, who was also 34.
She lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States in 1930 and in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States for about 5 years. She has four siblings, a sister and three brothers namely Robert Earl Miller, Lillian Grace Miller, Denton Greenberry Miller, and Lloyd George Miller.
Miller was a student at Carlisle, known as “the prettiest girl at Carlisle.” Her relatives emphasized their white blood, even though she was able to get a free education by claiming her Cherokee ancestry and graduating.
She was a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, who entered the school on October 6, 1909, graduated in 1912, and departed on June 24, 1912. She holds an American nationality and belongs to the white ethnic race.
Iva Miller cause of death: What happened to Jim Thorpe’s first wife?
The cause of the death of Iva Miller was not revealed, but we believe she might have died a natural death.
She lived for 88 years and died on August 26, 1981, in Hawthorne, Los Angeles, California, United States, and was buried in Harrell Cemetery, Cushing, Payne, Oklahoma, United States.
Source: nflfaqs.com