Sidney Johnson Miller III

Sidney Johnson Miller, III Sidney Johnson Miller, III, age 91, loving husband, father, grandfather and friend, passed away Friday, November 19, 2010 at the Westminster Manor Health Care Center in Austin, survived by Fern, his loving wife of 66 yrs. Sid was born February 19, 1919 in Duncan Oklahoma to parents Sidney J. Miller, Jr. and Cuba Celeste Manire Miller of Alma, OK. Sid is survived by his wife, the former Fern Ruth Sims of Chickasha, OK; three children: Sandi Denenburg of Houston, Marjo Warren of Jupiter, FL and Michele Ray of Austin; four grandchildren: Chelsea Denenburg and David Denenburg of Houston, Michael Ray of Dallas, and Brian Ray of Austin; and a sister: Marjorie Otto of Pierce, Nebraska. He was preceded in death by his younger brother, Joe Deane of Corpus Christi. Sid interrupted his major in engineering at the University of Oklahoma to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps on November 11, 1941. He received his Pilot Wings as a pursuit pilot on July 4, 1942 and was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Army Air Corps. After additional training in Puerto Rico, he served in the "China-Burma-India" Theater from March 1943 to May 1944 and completed 37 combat missions. He and his unit received the USAF Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy. Sid flew with the 25th Fighter Squadron "Assam Draggins" flying the Curtis "P-40 Warhawk". Then with the 459th Fighter Squadron "Twin Dragons" of the 80th Fighter Group "The Burma Banshees", he flew the Lockheed "P-38 Lightning" and the "P-47 Thunderbolt" aka "The Jug". This 80th Fighter Group replaced the famous "Flying Tigers" American Volunteer Group after the AVG left the region. After the war, Sid returned to March AFB in Riverside, CA and served from 1946-1947 in the European Theatre with the USAF in Straubing, Germany. He returned to March AFB and continued his service in 1947-1950 as a jet fighter pilot flying the "F-86" and the first operational Jet Fighter, the "F-80" Shooting Star. Sid transferred to Stillwater, Oklahoma where he earned a BS degree in Commerce from Oklahoma A&M (OSU), while also serving as an instructor in the Air Force Officer Training Corp. Sid completed 20 years of active and reserve duty and retired from the USAF with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Sid had a national award winning career with IDS Financial Services, now Ameriprise Financial, for over 33 years and retired as the Divisional Sales Manager in 1986. Sid and Fern were loyal members of Tarrytown United Methodist Church in Austin with active roles and made life-long friends there. Both were avid golfers at Austin Country Club for over 40 years. Sid loved re-engineering his old golf clubs for the grandchildren and taught them all to play. His children and grandchildren inherited many of his talents in engineering, music, business and sports. He loved boating on Lake Austin and spent endless hours teaching all three daughters and their friends how to ski. Sid also loved music and played saxophone in a band while in college. Sid supported his daughters for over 25 years in piano, dance and voice lessons, never missing one of their concerts or recitals. Sid was passionate about his family, and devoted to the love of his life, Fern. He led with his fighter pilot spirit, and provided faithful support, love, and leadership in all the family endeavors. Sid was a man of honesty, courage, and faith, serving his country, his family and friends with love, honor, distinction, humility and great humor. He continued his fight for freedom throughout his life, reminding us that "freedom is never free". His spirit lives on and he will be missed. Visitation is Tuesday, November 30, 2010, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m., at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar, Austin, TX. A funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, December 1, 2010 at Tarrytown United Methodist Church, 2601 Exposition Blvd. Full Military Funeral Honors will be performed immediately following the memorial at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, 2800 Hancock Dr., Austin. The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at Westminster Manor Health Care Center and Odyssey Hospice for their loving and thoughtful care of Sid. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Sid Miller may be directed to "The Wounded Warrior Project". Memorial guestbook available online at www.wcfish.com