Thursday, November 17, 2016

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.