Clifford Miller Obituary

Clifford R. Miller

Clifford R. Miller died October 29, 2010, at Rogue Valley Medical Center. He was born in Seattle, Wash., on December 3, 1916, the third child of Ross Franklin and Lillian (Dickie) Miller.

Completing a commercial course, he graduated from Bellevue High School, Washington, in 1935. This was followed by nine months at Seattle Secretarial School. During the Great Depression years, he was a civil service clerk-stenographer. This included four years as an employee of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, first at McNeil Island, Washington, and then at Terre Haute, Indiana, where he was secretary to the warden.

Having become a Christian at age 21, he had a strong interest in learning more about the Bible; this accounted for his decision to attend Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for three years. Subsequently, he enrolled at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where he earned bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees in the social sciences. He had occasion to fill in at the Charleston Bible Center where he met Hilda Triezenberg Ostema, a widow with two little girls. After he stopped serving the church, he began courting Hilda and soon married.

The family applied to the Africa Inland Mission (a protestant interdenominational mission) for service in Kenya. They served for nearly five years. Cliff taught in the high school department of Rift Valley Academy, an American high school conducted mainly for children of missionaries.

Returning to the States, he received a doctorate in history (with a minor in political science) from the University of Oregon. Subsequently, for 27 years (1955-82) Cliff taught at what is now Southern Oregon University, specializing in the American West.

In 1966, he received a Mosser Award for exceptional teaching (the only year the state legislature provided such recognition). He wrote instructional materials for the general extension division, several articles/reviews, and two books dealing with religion in the early Pacific Northwest: and Shining Light, the Story of Moses Williams, Father of Presbyterianism in Southern Oregon.

Cliff traveled extensively. In addition to his years in East Africa, he visited Mexico and saw nearly all states of the Union and provinces of Canada, except Alaska. He visited Europe on four occasions. Over the years, he sponsored many children through World Vision.

After retirement in 1982, Cliff enjoyed Elderhostels and pursued an interest in family history. He collected old postal cards, stampless covers and documents having historical interest. A lover of movies, he had a large collection of DVDs. A fitness buff, he jogged for over 20 years, then hour-a-day walking and finally, in his early nineties, daily exercise on a stationary bike.

Cliff spent the last years of his life at Anna Maria Creekside retirement center on Golf View Drive in Medford, which he dearly loved. He is survived by a brother, Frank; five nephews; one niece; and two step-daughters, Geraldine Hodder and Judy Swingle; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Joe; a sister, Elizabeth; and his wife, Hilda.

Disposition is by cremation through Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives, according to his wishes. Since he desired no services, two of his grandchildren are putting together a memory blog of his life: http://CliffMillerPhD.blogspot.com and will put the collection into book form for his family members.

Donations may be made to the Medford Friends Church, 525 DeBarr Avenue, Medford, OR 97501 or World Vision.

Source: Medford Mail Tribune online, November 10, 2010