Ivan Wilson Miller
January 21, 1923 - November 17, 2016
Ivan was born January 21, 1923 to Jamison Dunn Miller and
Sadie Augusta Mills in Ault Colorado. He
departed this world November 17, 2016 in Victorville, California at the age of
93, leaving behind his beloved wife of 72 years, Mary.
Ivan was the second youngest of seven children born to
Jamison and Sadie. He was a great story
teller and he loved to tell of his growing-up years, which were spent around
Hutchinson and Pretty Prairie Kansas, where he attended a one-room school house
with several of his siblings. Ivan, his older
brother, Everett, and little sister, Faye, rode their pony, Polly, to
school. Faye got to ride Polly all the
way, while Ivan and Everett alternated riding, the other ran ahead to wait for Polly
to catch up. Ivan loved movies, westerns
being his favorite. He loved fishing,
hunting and roaming the outdoors.
During his boyhood Ivan worked summers on the farm of his
sister and brother-in-law, Jessie and Gail Rogers to earn money for school
books and clothes. As a teenager, Ivan
moved to Denver with his family, where he met the love of his life, Mary, in
high school. A favorite pastime was
Jitterbugging with Mary in the school quad at lunch time. Ivan excelled in athletics, joining the
football and track teams, where he developed close friendships with Mary’s
brothers Tony, Louie and Mike. At a
state track meet the coach told the boys to sign up for any additional events
that interested them. Ivan signed up for
the high hurdles and won first in the state.
When the coach asked why Ivan hadn’t told him that he could run hurdles,
Ivan replied that he had never tried them before.
Ivan was particularly good in math and during his junior
year one of his teachers was working to get him a scholarship to the Colorado
School of Mines. Then, Pearl Harbor was
attacked on December 7, 1941. The
following December, as the war escalated, Ivan joined the Marine Corps along
with many of his classmates. The high
school accelerated his final exams so Ivan could ship-out before the graduation
ceremony. Mary accepted the diploma in
his absence.
In April 1944 Ivan and his brother Everett were sent home on
emergency leave due to their mother’s grave illness. Sadie was placed in a sanatorium, where she
remained until the end of her life in May 1946. Once Sadie was stabilized, Ivan and Mary
took advantage of his leave to get married on April 23, 1944. Ivan returned to Midway Island until his discharge
from the Marine Corp in 1945. For
several years after the war Ivan and Mary lived in Colorado where their first
two children were born, Pat and Casandra.
In early 1951, Ivan, Mary and the children moved to Southern
California, where he learned the machinist trade. They had two more children, Vicki and Caren,
and resided in El Monte, California for the next 18 years. Ivan helped form the Chuckwalla Jeep Club and with
his family had many adventures camping, fishing and roaming the deserts of
Southern California.
While Ivan did well in California, in his heart he was a
farm boy. In 1972, with the children
raised, Ivan and Mary bought a farm in
Springfield, Colorado, where Ivan raised wheat, corn and cattle. Ivan loved farming and country living. These were some of the happiest times of his
life.
Ivan always had a wanderlust spirit. He loved being on the road and found
adventure wherever he went. In the late
1980’s Ivan and Mary bought a motor home and went on the road full time. They traveled the entire United States and
made many lasting friendships around the country. They traditionally spent the summers in the
beautiful Rocky Mountains and winters in the desert with the snow birds from
Canada.
Ivan is survived by his wife Mary, son Patrick Miller of Blacksburg,
Virginia, three daughters Casandra von Esch-Niggle of Highland, California,
Vicki Stephens of Walsh, Colorado and Caren Toruño of Hesperia, California. Ivan and Mary were blessed with nine
grandchildren Ivan, Donnie, Autumn, Ian, Mary, Brookes, Sara, Lindsey and
Joseph and 19 great-grandchildren Sonny, Chet, Jack, Katherine; Nicholas, Katy,
Emily, Grace, Elizabeth, Jackson; Christopher, Billie, Jaine, Riley, Mackenzie,
Donald (Boy), Bailee, Ryker; and David. He
is preceded in death by his parents, Jamison and Sadie and siblings Oscar,
Jamison, Jessie, Ardist, Everett and Faye.
A commitment ceremony is scheduled at 11:00 A.M. at the
Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California on January 20, 2017, followed
at 1:00 P.M. by a Celebration of Life at the Hampton Inn, 27959 Highland Ave.
Highland, California 92346.