James Miller

1913 - 2010

The family of James (Dick) Miller is sad to announce his passing on Saturday, November 13, 2010 at his home in Ojai. His loving family was with him at the time of his death at age 97.

Our father was born in Mt. Solon, Virginia on September 20, 1913. He and our mother, Lucille were married on February 16, 1934 in Wellsburg, West Virginia. They lived the early part of their life together in Akron, Ohio where he worked 12 years for the Firestone Tire Company. They had three children while in Ohio; Barbara, David and Linda.

Mom and dad never enjoyed the bitter cold winters in Ohio so in 1945 they bought a 30 foot travel trailer and hooked it up to a 1939 Oldsmobile and headed west to California to begin a new adventure. Upon arriving in California, they stopped in Ventura on their journey north, for what was to be a few days of getting caught up to rest. They soon realized how much they loved Ventura County and decided to stay.

Our father bought a dump truck and delivered sand and material to the new Matilija Dam that was being built in the mountains above Ojai. He fell in love with the Ojai Valley and bought a half acre of land in the Mira Monte area in 1948 to build a home. Over the next few years they had two more children, Mike and Becky. Our father then began building our concrete block home. He did all the work himself, one block at a time. It took 10 years to complete. Our father later worked for the IBEW Electrical Union in Ventura for 25 years and for the County of Ventura's Flood Control for 10 more years.

Our father's passion was his antique cars. He was a "Ford Man" through and through and had an oversized picture of Henry Ford framed and hanging in his garage. He loved restoring antique cars and proudly drove his decorated 1930 Deluxe Roadster in many of the Ojai and Ventura parades with the Model 'A' Club. He was usually leading the pack with American flags in the front of the car and grandkids in the rumble seat. He and our mother also enjoyed hooking up his vintage, 'teardrop' trailer to his 1939 Ford Deluxe Coupe to take a day trip to Lake Casitas for a picnic. He always drew a crowd of people who would stop to take pictures and share 'car' stories. He loved to visit with everyone and had a remarkable memory when it came to automotive memorabilia. Our parents also had a larger travel trailer that they enjoyed taking on longer trips into the sierras to camp and fish.

Our father was an avid collector of vintage automotive hub caps, the small screw on type, and he belonged to the National 'Hubcapers Club'. He made many lifelong friends in this club. His collection is one of the largest in the nation at over 1,000 hubcaps, all lovingly restored. Our father was a member of the Ventura County Model A Club of America for over 20 years; the V-8 Ford Club; and a member of the Model 'A' Restorer's Club for 35 years. He accumulated an impressive collection of automobile license plates, some from as early as 1914 and from nearly 50 states.

When not working on cars, our father enjoyed restoring furniture, doing his daily crossword puzzles which he always finished. He could fix just about anything and would bring things home from a garage sale and make them better than new.. He loved being in his chair in the evening watching Jeopardy with his cat, 'Baby' sitting on him.

Our father gave us a wonderful family life and will be truly missed by his wife Lucille. They were married for 76 years. Other survivors include his sister, Ruby of Akron, Ohio; daughter Barbara McCary of San Clemente; her children, Cynthia of Huntington Beach and Brent of Rancho Santa Margarita; daughter Linda (Dick) Frazier of Oak View; their children, Brandon and Jason of Ventura and Joel of Oak View; son Mike (Karen) Miller of Ventura, and their children, Joie and Monika of Ventura; daughter Becky (Mark) McClain of Orange and their children, Jorden of Ladera Ranch; Heather of Corona del Mar and Nicole of Walnut Creek; Sandy Miller (our brother David's second wife) of Oxnard; grandchildren, Sonja and Gene from Georgetown, Calif., and Mike from Northern Calif., the children of our late brother David who preceded our father in death along with grandson Brian who passed away in 1993. Our parents are blessed with 22 great-grandchildren.

The family will be having a memorial service on Sunday, November 21 at 2 p.m. at the Girl Scout Center on Sulpher Mountain Road. Everyone that knew our father is welcome to come and share a story or two.

Our family would like to acknowledge the special women of hospice and the Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association that made our father and the whole family so comfortable during this difficult time. He was able to spend his final days in the home that he built and have all of his family around him and that was very special to all of us.

The family wishes donations be made to Little House in Ojai in lieu of flowers.