James Roger MILLER

MILLER, BRANDOW, HENSEL, ASCHEBROCK, MOORE, BREWINGTON, HOLLINGSWORTH

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/27/2009 at 17:37:57

James Roger Miller of Sheboygan, WI, passed away from an extended illness in his home on February 23rd. He had celebrated his 80th birthday surrounded by extended family less than two weeks earlier.

James Roger Miller was born in Eagle Grove, Iowa in a railroad employees boarding hotel on February 12, 1929. His parents were Theodore Ford Miller and Florence Cecelia (Brandow) Miller. He was raised and attended school in Hawarden, Sioux County, Iowa, which was also the birthplace of his father, born 1900. He graduated salutatorian from Hawarden High School in 1947, was a member of the National Honor Society, and received the American Legion American History medal and the Bausch and Lomb Outstanding Science Student award. In high school he earned letters in football, basketball, and track in each of four years. During the summer of 1943 he commenced a lifelong relation with the U.S. Navy when, at the age of 14, he padded his age by two years to work in the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington. There he had the privilege of helping to repair the ships that had participated in the South Pacific campaigns in the Coral Sea, and Marianas, Marshall, and Gilbert Islands battles, including the USS Enterprise, and USS New Orleans.

He attended Iowa State University on an NROTC scholarship, graduated in June 1951 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, and received a commission as Ensign, USN. On active duty in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, he served in the USS Maury, AGS 16, and the USS Elokomin AO 55 from 1951 through June 1953. During that time one of his responsibilities was to map the Persian Gulf. From 1953 to 1955 he served on the academic staff of the U.S. Naval Academy, teaching electrical engineering. After leaving active duty in 1955, he served in Naval Reserve units in Des Moines, Iowa (NRSD 9-55), Marshfield, WI, (NRED 9-34), and Sheboygan, WI (NRSD 9-224). He was commanding officer of the latter two units, and retired from the ready reserve in 1972 with the rank of Commander, USNR. He is a Life member of The Naval Reserve Association, and The Reserve Officers Association.

Mr. Miller joined the engineering department of Iowa Power and Light Company in 1956. In 1960 he joined the Wisconsin Rapids Gas Company as Chief Engineer and operations manager. When that company was purchased by Milwaukee Gas Light Company (later Wisconsin Gas Co.) he joined Gabes Construction of Sheboygan. In 1965 he founded Miller Engineers in Sheboygan, WI. That company provided natural gas and electric transmission line and utility right of way, and mapping services to investor owned utilities. In the past 40 years the company has evolved to providing a wide variety of public works, geotechnical materials, and environmental engineering services throughout eastern Wisconsin. In 1974, Miller purchased a small surveying firm in Riverton Wyoming, which now has offices in Casper, Cheyenne, Green River, and Powell, WY. Inberg-Miller Engineers now employs 110 persons providing a wide variety of surveying, environmental, and engineering services related to transportation, public utilities, petroleum and mining industries. In 1984, he acquired a six person surveying firm in Farmington, NM, to which was added an environmental engineering firm in Santa Fe, in 1989. Miller Engineers, Inc. of NM, (dba Souder, Miller and Associates) now employees 120 people in Farmington, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and Hobbs, NM; Safford, AZ; and Grand Junction and Cortez, CO. Active in engineering professional societies, Mr. Miller served as president of the Consulting Engineers Council of Wisconsin, 1971-73, and chairman of the Professional Engineers in Private Practice of the Wisconsin Professional Engineers Society, and is a life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Mr. Miller is a licensed professional engineer and land surveyor in several mid-west and western states.

Mr. Miller has been a lifelong Rotary member, joining the Wisconsin Rapids Rotary club in 1960; he is a founding member of the Riverton Wyoming Rotary Club (1975), and has belonged to the Farmington, NM club. He was an active member of the Sheboygan Rotary Club. He belonged to the Sheboygan Yacht Club for many years and loved sailing/racing his "lightning" sailboat. He also loved skiing and, especially, living on the beach of Lake Michigan.

Mr. Miller is survived by his wife of 20 years, Virginia (Gini) Hollingsworth Miller. They were married on May 20 1989. She has two children from her marriage to Richard A. Hensel, Ginger (Steve) Aschebrock and Eli (deceased). Mr. Miller thought of Ginger as his daughter. Mr. Miller and Virginia have resided at 4933 Evergreen Drive, Sheboygan, WI since 1990, in the house that Mr. Miller designed and built in 1965. Mr. Miller was married to Marjorie Lee Moore (Miller) in 1951 in Des Moines, Iowa. They were divorced in 1986. Ms. Miller currently resides in Sedona, AZ. They have three children, Jennifer Miller Brewington, Glenwood, Maryland, Roger Gwynne Miller, Sheboygan, WI, and Christopher Moore Miller, Auckland, New Zealand. Each of the three Miller siblings have added two grandchildren to the clan, six in all. Mr. Miller was preceded in death by his parents and two siblings, Bruce Calvin Miller and Joy Louise Miller. There will be no funeral or memorial service. Mr. Miller had, instead, requested that his life be celebrated with a beach party this summer. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice in Sheboygan Falls.

The Sheboygan Press, Wisconsin
February 26, 2009