Jerry L. Miller

Jerry Lee Miller, husband, father, grandfather and gardener extraordinaire, passed away January 6, 2022 surrounded by his wife, Rosemary, and his Triple A Girls. He was 80 when he died from a six-year battle with Alzheimer’s. Memorial services will be held 11:00 a.m. Monday, January 17, 2022 at First Lutheran Church in Kearney with Rev. Dr. Michelle Holley Carlson and Rev. Dr. Rick Carlson officiating. Inurnment will be held at a later date. The service will also be live streamed through the church website, https://firstlutherankearney.org/watch-live/ or on the First Lutheran Church Facebook page. The family will receive friends 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Sunday, January 16, 2022 at O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral Home. Those attending are encouraged to wear a masks. Memorials are suggested to First Lutheran Church or to Alzheimer’s Association. Condolences may be shared online at www.osrfh.com. Services are entrusted to O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral and Cremation Services. Jerry was born August 20, 1941 in Gothenburg to Niels Herman and Freda (Christensen) Miller. He was also welcomed by his five sisters. Jerry fought polio and missed his kindergarten year while at the Lincoln Orthopedic Hospital. His mom would take the train to visit him. He never let his complications from polio stop him from doing anything. Being raised by those five sisters and parents who survived the Depression possibly led him to a life of collecting many things. Lots of things. Piles of things. Jerry grew up with his grandpa Christensen living with the family. He spoke only Danish, so Jerry learned some Danish at a young age. He graduated from Gothenburg High in 1960. He started at Kearney State College that fall and was the first in his family to go to college. He studied math and science until he got a job at Rockwell International in 1963. Jerry met Rosemary Ann Felt at Foote Convenience Plaza and told his friend, “I’m going to marry her.” On March 29, 1968 he did just that. He completed KSC while working as a Senior Design Engineer at Rockwell, and he graduated from KSC in 1973 with a bachelor’s in math and physics. He continued working at Rockwell until 1985, when Rockwell moved to North Carolina. He then worked at Delux Manufacturing, Ag Dryer, and Chief Industries. He retired in 2004. In 1999, he took college classes to learn computer aided drafting. He bought his first computer which introduced him to his love of emailing his daughters. He would send advice. Photos of birds in his bird feeder. Photos of his garden. Weather updates. Crane sightings. Questions on how to clean a shower curtain. Perhaps his greatest joys were his daughters and grandchildren. His passion was his family, and his jovial spirit was felt by all. He was the fun dad. The dad who would drive through piles of snow to pick up friends on a snow day. The dad who spun cookies on the ice in the church parking lot. The dad who would burn hotdogs on the grill and then place them in buns on a plate to serve to someone. The dad who would bring you McDonald’s hamburger and strawberry shake when you were sick. The dad who usually had a TSF (tear stained face) anytime we told him of any accomplishment-big or small. The dad who said great job-even when we failed. The dad who cleaned up every plate at the dinner table. The dad who would wake you up on car rides to make sure you saw every windmill, cow, horse, bird, and funny bumper sticker. The dad who carefully packed up our station wagon like a game of Tetris. The dad who would spend hours at a mall with his girls. The dad who gave the best hugs. He was the dad some friends of ours wanted for their own dad. He supported his family in every way possible. He photographed as many events as he could. And this was way before digital cameras and cell phones. Jerry delighted in his role as grandpa. His face lit up when he saw a grandchild. He played games with them, snuggled with them, acted silly with them, talked to them. He truly loved those grandkids with all his heart. Jerry was a lover of all kinds of gardening, woodworking, photography, star gazing, grilling, golfing, listening to music and buying used (clearance) meat at Bob’s Superstore. One of his proud moments was when he got a hole-in-one at Meadowlark Hills. Jerry was a kind and gentle soul, who always had a kind word to say about everyone. Jerry was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2015. In spite of this he and Rosemary were able to go on many bus trips with old friends and new friends. He was able to live at home until May of 2021 when he entered Prairie View Gardens. After contacting covid the end of August, he was hospitalized and then moved to St. John’s where he lived for four months. Jerry entered the kingdom of heaven and was welcomed with loving arms once again by his parents and sisters. Surviving him are his wife; his Triple A Girls and sons-in-law: Amy (Layne) Lueders of Blair, Anne (Kelly) Roberts of Leawood, Kansas, and Ashley (David) Klein of Elkhorn; grandchildren Grace, Samuel and Theodore Lueders, Tallula and Abraham Roberts, and Brigham and Whitaker Klein, nieces and nephews and many good friends. Preceding him in death were his parents, sisters Fern (Harry) Lemaster, Maxine (Dale) Cain, Imogene (Robert) Bailey, Betty Lou (Dale) Clark, and Eldene (LaVerne) Pollat. Our thanks to AseraCare Hospice, Good Samaritan Society-St. John’s and Prairie View Gardens for their compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Lutheran Church or Alzheimer’s Association in Jerry’s memory.

Jerry L. Miller

August 20, 1941 - January 6, 2022