On February 21, we lost our Grandmother's baby brother, John Aaron Miller. Uncle Johnny was my link to our family history in Colorado so often. Years ago when I realized that we knew so much about Grandpa Wyant's family ancestry but very little about Grandma Wyant's, Uncle Johnny pulled out the TWO family Bibles that he had and started digging. He photocopied pages. He answered questions and he became curious with me. He became almost boy like with excitement when I shared with him all of my discoveries about the Culvers and the Millers. He shared anecdotal stories with me about Grandpa and Grandma Murray - the few that he remembered. But most important to me, as long as he was alive, I felt like I had a link to Grandma Wyant. He might have seemed more like a cousin to Denny, Dick, Doyle, Duane, Diane and Dwight because of his age (he was just a little older than Uncle Denny) but he was a generation ahead of them and a full-blooded Miller like Grandma.
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| Aaron Pierson Miller and John Pierson Miller (Grandma Wyant and John Miller's father) Uncle Johnny was named after his grandfather who is pictured above. |
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| John Aaron Miller's High School Graduation Picture 1944 |
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| Left to right back row: Sherry Peterson Swan and Andy Swan; Johnny, Rosie and Janet Miller; Ruth Peterson Front row: Helen Beghtol and Gary Peterson |
His passing was very fast and the news did not travel back to Indiana very quickly. So I thought it was be appropriate to share a little about a very sweet and kind-hearted man who had a very special place in our family.
Here is the obituary that was posted:
John Aaron Miller was born January 16, 1926 in Arvada, CO, peacefully left our world on February 21, 2013 at the age of 87. He is survived by his wife, Elova L. Miller; his three daughters, Janet Cook, Karen Barnes, and Kimberly Lowry; his grandchildren, Arianna Nowakowski, Lucas Cook, Melissa Brewer, and Rebecca Albano. John had a rich full life. He served in the Army and was stationed in the Philippines, and Japan during WWII. After the war, he became a wonderful firefighter for the Denver Fire Department, and was a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) in Lodge #2278 (Arvada). He was an amazing fisherman who knew pretty much every lake and river in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. He will be tremendously missed. His life will be remembered and celebrated in a private memorial ceremony; and we bet he will catch spectacular fish in the heavenly river he is now near.
If you would like to send online condolences, here is the link to Uncle Johnny's online obituary:
http://coloradocrematory.com/Obituaries
I love thinking about him fishing with Uncle Denny and Brent in heaven as well as him being reunited with his big brother and sisters.
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| This is Aunt Elova, myself and Uncle Johnny a few years ago at their home in Arvada. |
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| The Murray/Miller ranch. This picture was taken around 1968. My cousins Michelle and Terri, myself, my sister Denise, and my little brother, Andrew (in the red in "I don't want to be in the picture mode") are on the lane to the Miller/Murray house. You can see the original house at the end of the lane. My dad and his siblings spent summers here. The house has now been torn down according to Uncle Johnny. |
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| Back Row: Ruth Miller Peterson, Alberta "Bertie" Wyant, Walbert Wyant, Duane Wyant, Barbara Miller (married to Uncle Irwin), Rosie (?), Uncle Johnny Center: Jerry VanLue, Joyce Wyant, Diane Wyant, Irwin Miller Front: Janet Miller? and Gary Peterson? Someone help me? |
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| The Miller Siblings: Irwin, Helen, Alberta, Ruth, Johnny in front of Irwin and Barbara's house which I believe was also located on family ranch property. Rawson Creek was behind his house. This was the creek that ran through Grandpa Miller's ranch and the Wyant kids played around this creek during their summer visits.
My dad's memories of Uncle John:
Uncle John and the Wyant boys enjoyed getting into mischief together. He was more of a cousin to them than an uncle. Uncle Johnny had what daddy describes as a western accent that was a little odd sounding toward an Indiana boy. Grandma Miller would sing Irish/Scottish ballads that were passed on to Grandma Wyant. Grandpa Miller had a "dug out" where he stored tools and farm implements. The boys liked to climb down into it and cool off when it was a hot summer day. They often slept outside in the alfalfa field together.
The boys would build soap box derbies together and raced. They played in Rawson Creek and dammed up a little section where they learned to swim. Grandpa Miller rigged up a ramp so that they could cross the creek to get to the chicken house. They would often continue walking up to Uncle Irwin's house and explore. Uncle Irwin's wife, Barbara, knew how to make home-made root beer and ice cream. That was a big treat that the boys always looked forward to. One time, Uncle John and my dad broke into Uncle Irwin's surveying tools and were intrigued with a telescope that they found. They set it up and used it to view the mountains which were about 20 miles and dreamed of sitting at the foot of the mountains. During their summers, they would work and put up hay together on Grandpa Miller's farm. This is where my dad learned a lot of his farm skills.
Here are a couple of maps from the Jefferson County Library showing the boundaries of the farm. |
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| Map of the location of the Murray farm. In the mid 1890's, the ranch was purchased by Helen Culver, Margaret Culver Murray's sister and was given to her and her Scottish immigrant husband, Alexander Murray. After their deaths, the farm was given to their daughters, Margaret Silver Murray (married John Pierson Miller) and Rachel Culver Murray (married Henry Kerstiens). The girls continued to live on the homestead and raised their families as well. |
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| Detail of the Murray/Miller farm. The ranch area is now between Oak and Simms Streets in Arvada, Colorado. |
If you'd like to send snail mail condolences, Aunt Elova's address is:
Elova Miller
10870 W. 68th Place
Arvada, Colorado 80004
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