Paul Miller, Dad, 7/30/49 - 7/9/2010

My dad was a man who met life full on. He was a risk taker whose head was full of ideas and plans. He enjoyed taking on new things and he enjoyed a good challenge. He completed these thing with a super human amount of hard work mixed with a good old fashioned dose of bullheadedness. He didn't back down from the challenges, and quitting was not an option.

I think I was in grade school when I first realized how hard dad worked. His insurance business was in its infancy. We lived on my gradparents' farm. They both were fighting losing battles with cancer. He put in an incredible amount of hours in his own business, and was running grandpa's farm. I'm honestly not sure when he slept those years.

I remember going out on the corn planter at night with him. He would plant the corn by the headlights of the tractor. I would ride along, and always fell asleep while he went back forth through the field.

Over the years he had a lot of different jobs, but he did every one of them with the same attitude; full on. 100% effort was put in while completing the work to his own high standards.

Though he did not play nearly as much as maybe we all thought he should, when he did play it was with the same force. I remember long Sunday drives, Monopoly games, euchre, back packing, camping, softball, and just horsing around with kids.

He had a huge soft spot for kids. It could be seen when he was a youth pastor and foster parent, but I've seen it most in the last five years here with his own grandchildren. The grand kids were always tagging along with him to work on fence, run to the feed mill, feed the animals, or just watch him work on whatever project was occupying him that day.

I am so incredibly grateful for the last five years of living and work beside him on our little farm in the woods. What a precious gift it is for Tim and I and the kids. I can't really begin to fathom what life here will be like with out him. We all ready miss him so much. But he taught us how to face this challenge. We will meet it with hard work mixed with a good dose of Miller stubbornness. All the while remembering to, "Consider it pure joy. . . " James 1:2.



Paul M. Miller, 60, of Ona, WV, formerly of Fredericksburg, OH passed Friday, July 9, 2010 from injuries sustained in a farm accident. He was a generous man who freely gave of his time and resources. He met life's challenges with a sense of adventure and perseverance. He encouraged others around him to do the same, often using his favorite verse, James 1:2-3, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." He touched many lives, and will be deeply missed. Paul was a successful business man, a youth pastor, backpacker, spelunker, bus driver, wrestling coach, foster parent, but spent the final years of his life doing what he loved best, tending to the land and animals and spending time with his family. He was born July 30, 1949 in Millersburg, OH, a son of the late Melvin B. And Mary P. Miller. He is survived by his wife, Linda Franks Miller; one daughter and son-in-law, Stephanie and Tim Appleton of Ona, WV; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Eric Miller of Oak Hill, WV and Jake and Delilah Miller of Cuyahoga Falls, OH; sisters and brothers-in-law, Sara and Paul Mast of Apple Creek, OH, Clara and Andy Troyer of Millersburg, OH, Amanda Raber of Holmesville, OH, Katie and John Erb of Walnut Creek, OH brothers and sisters-in-law, Eli and Verba Miller of NY, Roy and Lovina Miller of Holmesville, OH, Pete and Anna Miller of Coschocton, OH and Abe and Erma Miller of Danville, OH; and ten grandchildren. Visitation will be Tuesday from 6-9 pm at the Wallace Funeral Home, Barboursville. Funeral services will be conducted at 10:00 am Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at the Wallace Funeral Home & Chapel, Barboursville, by Paul Richardson. Burial will be in Barker Ridge Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Samaritan's Purse, Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607-3000. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.timefor memory.com/wallace.