Myrtle May Presson was born in Litchfield, Illinois on November 24, 1884 to Butler Presson and Nancy Jane Bennett Presson. She joined a brother, Clinton Griffin Presson, and several other siblings from her father's previous marriages. The Presson family moved to the area of Ottawa, Kansas when Myrtle was about 9 years old, to follow her father's assignment as a Methodist-Episcopal minister. After several years in Kansas, Myrtle's mother purchased a plot of land East of Ottawa, where the family built a general store, opened a post office and established a small town they called Pressonville. 

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Myrtle enrolled at the Ottawa University Conservatory of Music in 1898, at the age of 13, and soon began offering music lessons for children. Her brother attended the university studying business, before he joined the Army and was sent to the Philippines, where he died in 1900. 

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She married her first husband, Benjamin F. Wheeler on Thanksgiving Day 1900, just days after her 16th birthday. They had two children, Ardys Olivia Wheeler (b. 1901) and Freeman Wheeler (b. 1903). 

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Myrtle and her mother suffered many respiratory illnesses, and her family often traveled to Colorado for respite. Their illnesses were never reported as Tuberculosis, but were often referred to as "malarial fever." Myrtle's illness was severe enough that her husband sold his farm and bought a house in town so that she'd have easier access to medical care. 

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In 1904, Myrtle's parents moved to Clarkston, Washington and Myrtle and Benjamin followed in 1905. 

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In Clarkston, Myrtle participated in church activities with her parents, as her dad actively pursued increasing the size of his ministry at the First Baptist Church. Myrtle suffered frequent bouts of illness, being described as having intense chest pains and hysteria. Toward the end of their residence in Clarkston, Myrtle suffered a major health emergency and had to undergo a major surgery and hospital stay in Spokane.

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In 1908, Myrtle and Benjamin moved to Spokane. They hired a contractor from Clarkston to go to Spokane and build a new house for them. Their house still stands on South Grand near Manito Park. 

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Myrtle and Benjamin divorced in 1910, and the divorce documents reveal quite a story. Myrtle accuses Ben of having a vile temper and being extremely jealous and demeaning toward her, upsetting her so much that she required the care of a nurse. Benjamin accuses Myrtle of infidelity and "lewd and lascivious behavior" after he finds letters written to her by a theater colleague named A.G. Hayes in which Hayes affectionately refers to Myrtle as "Kid." 

 

When they decided to divorce, Benjamin demanded half the proceeds from the sale of the house and full custody of their son, Freeman, and does not offer to pay alimony. Ultimately, the Judge sides with Myrtle, awarding her full custody of both children, the house, and alimony. The only stipulation in the divorce decree is that she is to remain single for six months following the divorce. 

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Exactly six months to the day of her divorce, Myrtle wed her second husband, Donald Geddes. Geddes, a recent immigrant from Thurso, Scotland, worked as a haberdasher. It didn't take long for Donald to get into show business. For the first few years of their marriage, Myrtle worked the Vaudeville circuit until they moved to Moscow, Idaho to run a theater there. They resided in Idaho only briefly, before moving to Seattle to purchase Ye College Playhouse, a motion picture theater on NE 14th Avenue (later University Way) in the University District. 

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In 1920, Myrtle and Donald partnered with Harry Sigmond, an attorney from Pennsylvania serving as the President of the Northwest Film Board of Trade. Together with Harry, they owned the Playhouse, the Empress and Majestic in Ballard, the Fremont theater, the first Green Lake Theater and plans for a new theater along with the lot at the corner of 45th and Brooklyn where the Neptune was later constructed. They had planned to call that theater the Varsity. 

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Their partnership with Harry Sigmond didn't last for long. Within a couple of years, they sold all of their theaters. The Playhouse was soon utilized by the University of Washington to house its bookstore, which needed to be moved off campus temporarily. The location ended up working well for UW, and became the permanent home of the bookstore. It has been remodeled and expanded many times over the years but is still in the same location today. 

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Myrtle and Donald moved into the brand new Wilsonian Apartment Hotel, a luxury apartment building located on NE 47th Street. Soon after moving here, they divorced. Myrtle stayed in the apartment, and Donald and Freeman moved to the Biltmore Apartments and continued to work managing theaters. Donald and Freeman continued to work together, but Donald found his own residence-- in an apartment at the Neptune Theater. 

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Myrtle took a break from theaters at this time, and instead went to work in radio, where she met Frank Buckmiller. 

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Myrtle and Frank were married on September 4th, 1926 in Canada. They both worked for KOMO Radio. Frank was regularly scheduled to sing and Myrtle played accompaniment on the organ. 

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In 1929, Myrtle purchased the Baker theaters from Guy Haselton. She formed the Baker Theaters Company, with herself as President and Frank as Vice President.

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Myrtle and Frank lived a happy life in Baker operating their three theaters. Locals who remember her describe her as friendly, pleasantly plump, with short, jet black hair. She loved little kids, and took pride in providing opportunities for musical education and entertainment for them. Locals remember Myrtle bringing in big name talent like Madame Schumann-Heink to give voice lessons to kids; and the Mickey Mouse Club that she hosted at the Clarick was well known. She drove a red Lincoln and could often be found in the evenings drinking beer with Frank at local clubs. It has been remembered that on occasion they would put on a show where Frank would sing, and Myrtle would accompany him on the piano or organ, to a sold-out house. 

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Myrtle died suddenly in January, 1940. For some reason, Myrtle chose not to enter a local hospital and instead, Frank rushed her to Portland and checked her in to the Waverleigh Sanitarium (not to be confused with the famous haunted sanitarium), where she died in the early morning hours. It is possible that Myrtle did not wish to have medical interventions for spiritual reasons, though she desperately needed care. Records indicate that Myrtle, much like her father, was spiritually curious. Though Myrtle was raised in the Methodist-Episcopal Church, and her father went on to become a Baptist Minister, Myrtle was sometimes affiliated with the Church of Christian Science. 

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Myrtle was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Baker City. Her funeral was attended by her many motion picture industry friends, her pall-bearers being major studio representatives from Portland.  Her gravestone bears an incorrect birth year and middle initial. 

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