Earl Chester Miller, 82

Earl Chester Miller, 82, of Ronan died Friday, March 14, 2008, of pneumonia, at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula.

He was born April 24, 1925, in Spokane, to Earl "Buck" and Mary Miller. He was the oldest of four children, including Clyde, Mary and Clarence "Buster." Earl grew up on a desert ranch in southeast Oregon. He graduated from Crane High School in Crane, Ore. in 1943.

He worked for the Bureau of Land Management before serving proudly in the U.S. Army during the Korean War (First Cavalry Division). He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1952 and returned to the family ranch in Juntura, Ore., where he met schoolteacher Josephine Pence. They married July 3, 1954, in Elko, Nev. They had two children, Creighton Zigmont and Dixie Lee. The family moved to a ranch in Bruneau, Idaho, in 1960. He ranched there for more than 20 years before retiring. He and Josephine moved to Ronan in 1996.

Preceding him in death were his parents and his brother, Clyde.

He is survived by his wife, Josephine, at the home in Ronan; his son, Zig and Wrene, of Challis, Idaho; and his daughter, Dixie Knutson and Wes, of Columbia Falls. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Purdy, of Burns, Ore.; his brother, Buster, of Battle Mountain, Nev.; and two nieces.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday, March 17, at Ronan Alliance Church. Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Monday, March 17, at the church. Graveside services in Idaho will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at Hot Springs Cemetery near Bruneau, Idaho.