TORRINGTON – Funeral services for Marvin J. Miller, 97, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 18, 2017, at the First Congregational Church with the Rev. Matt Gordon officiating. Burial will follow in the Valley View Cemetery.
Marvin died April 13, 2017, at Heritage Estates in Gering, Neb. Memorials may be given to the First Congregational Church. Visitation will be Monday from 3 to 5 p.m. and the casket will be open briefly prior to the service at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home and friends may send condolences to the family at www.colyerfuneralhome.com.
Marvin was born April 8, 1920, in Lincoln, Neb., the son of Jacob and Marie (Herdt) Miller. He moved with his family at a young age to the Torrington area where he attended school. He was baptized and confirmed at the First Congregational Church.
He married Clara Schaneman on Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7, 1941, in Torrington. The couple farmed in the Cherry Creek area and moved to the Sheep Creek area in the spring of 1955, where they continued to farm, raising sugar beets, corn, dry beans and alfalfa. He also fed cattle.
They moved into the town of Torrington in the fall of 1982. Marvin always said that, “I didn’t retire , I just moved to town.” That was a very true statement as he was a very hard worker until he was forced to quit going to the farm in 2007 when he was 87, when he was run over by a tractor that Memorial Day weekend. His health declined from that time.
Marvin enjoyed sports. He played softball and bowled with the men of the Men’s League from the church. After he was no longer able to participate, he enjoyed watching the Wyoming Cowboys, Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Denver Broncos and especially the Colorado Rockies.
He was a member of the Elks Club and the First Congregational Church, including the Men’s League for softball and bowling. He served on the School Board of the Sheep Creek district and was a 4-H woodworking leader. Besides sports he enjoyed fishing, especially with some of his Sheep Creek neighbors, German food, polka music and candy and sweets of all kinds. He spent many hours picking black berries in the garden.
Marvin is survived by his wife Clara; daughters Sharon (Barry) Jones, Judy (Don) Johnson, and Jean Ferguson; son Glenn (Nancy ) Miller; grandchildren Jeff and Justin Jones, Greg and Kevin Johnson, Lisa Bolinger, Brent Ferguson, Ross Miller and Audrey Murphy; and fourteen great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Wesley and Edwin; a sister Alma Cadle; and a son-in-law Bill Ferguson.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Regional West Hospice and Heritage Estates for their care.
