Homer resident, Mr. Leonard “Earl” Miller, 86, passed away Friday, Feb. 14, 2014, at South Peninsula Hospital at Long Term Care in Homer with his daughter Patti and granddaughter Sandra at his side.

Memorial services are at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, at South Peninsula Hospital Long Term Care, 4300 Bartlett Street in Homer.

He was born Dec. 17, 1927, in Lone Tree School House, somewhere between his parent’s home and Big Sandy, Mont. It isn’t quite clear why his parents stopped there, probably the stork caught up with them there or there was a bad storm and they couldn’t go any further. He attended the one room schoolhouse in Lincoln, Mont., where he moved with his family in 1930.

Growing up in the country he loved to fish and learned to hunt at an early age. He also enjoyed ice skating and bowling.

He graduated from Helena High School, Mont., and immediately went into the U.S. Air Force. He spent 30 months overseas, and when he was discharged, he returned to Lincoln. Later he was recalled into the service and was gone for another three months. He was an airplane mechanic. He returned to Lincoln and went to work in the sawmills. 

Earl moved to Townsend, Mont., in the early 1950s to run a sawmill there. He married Grace Marie Jellison on Sept. 10, 1955, in Butte, Mont. They had two children, Patti and Mike, and were later divorced Oct. 26, 1961.

On Feb. 21, 1967, he married Marceil A. Parton Schults, a mother of eight children at Townsend, Mont. They lived there until September of 1974, and then moved to South Bend, Wash. He went to work for the BN Railroad and later bought a house and moved to Raymond, Wash. Earl ended up retiring in 1995. 

His wife passed away on May 5, 1998, and in 1999 he moved to Homer and lived in a cabin built for him at Patti and Bob’s house. He spent the last 30 months in Long Term Care where he made many friends. He will be greatly missed by many. 

He was preceded in death by his parents, Claude and Anna Miller; brother, Ben Miller; sister, Ethyl Peterson; step-son, Daryl Shults and wife, Marceil Miller. 

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Patti and Bob Russell of Homer; son, Leonard “Mike” Wallace of Wasilla; granddaughter, Sandra Wallace of Homer; step-daughters, Deb Sackett of Rapid City, S.D., Denise Allen of Wasilla, Dawn Curry of Washington, and DeeAnn Deans of Washington; step-sons, David Shults of Washington, Daniel Shults of Cheyenne, Wyo., and Doug Shults of Washington. He had many step-grandchildren and step great-grandchildren. 

Arrangements were made by Peninsula Memorial Chapel & Crematory. Visit Earl’s obituary and online guestbook at AlaskanFuneral.com.