Len Miller Obituary

Name: Celebration of Life for Len Miller
Start: 2023-05-15T18:00:00.000Z
Location: Irvine Barclay Theatre

April 5, 1937 - March 4, 2023 A Celebration of Life will be held on May 15, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. at the Irvine Barclay Theatre (4242 Campus Drive in Irvine) to honor the life of legendary track & field coach Len Miller. All are welcome!
Len coached at UC Irvine from 1973-1979. His 1975 and 1976 cross country teams won the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, and his 1976 track team won the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championship. While at Irvine, Len recruited and developed the greatest miler in United States history, Steve Scott, who held the American record in the mile for 26 years. From Irvine, Len went to Arizona State University; his 1981 team won the Pac-10 Championship and he was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. Len began his career at Porterville High School and he also coached at Victor Valley, Laguna Beach, and Dos Pueblos High Schools, and Santa Barbara City College.
Len is survived by his three children, Rick (and Dianna) Miller, Jackie Miller Joseph, and Jim (and Debbie) Miller, and their mother, Moira. He was also a beloved grandfather to Alece (and Clif) Campbell, Brandon Miller, Thomas (TJ) Miller, and Bailey Joseph, and had three adorable great-grandsons, Colt, Cody, and Copper Campbell. His spirit lives on in the countless lives he touched and the love he shared with his family, friends, and athletes.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Los Angeles Times from May 7 to May 13, 2023.

Memories and Condolences
for Len Miller

4 Entries

Jerry Carley

December 23, 2023

My all time coach. I was on his track teams at Victor Valley HS. I've been a teacher for over 50 years, and I must say, I emulated my best teachers-- first and foremost Len Miller. Love you, Coach. [email protected]

Mike Scott

June 10, 2023

I was just talking to Steve Scott about Len Miller 4 yrs ago at an Atlanta road race. Len played cards at my my house every Friday in the 70's. Steve said the winnings helped finance the track team at Irvine. Bill Toomey was head coach then. Len would share with me the quarter times of the team. He was most impressed with Doug Knapp who did 10 in under 55 sec considering his best had been 53.7 at CDM. Brian Hunsacker ran his first in 51.1. Brian a decade ago lost his battle with diabetes. I never met a better American coach that cared about every member of the team with such enthusiasm. My Dad preceding him by 27 yrs and as far as the rest of the poker players I ran into a Special Forces Bn commander back in 76 who would have been deeply saddened by his passing.

Kimberly R. West

May 14, 2023

To the family of Coach Miller: Although he probably wouldn't ever remember me, a student at LBHS in the 70s, I certainly never forgot him! He had a very kind heart and invited me to help out with things on the sidelines of the cross country team. I think he recognized I was one of those unpopular kids that hadn't found a peaceful sense of belonging to other school groups and he invited me into his world at LBHS. I will always be grateful for his kindness and good nature. He was a wonderful coach and I'm sure he impacted many young lives in very important ways. I will not forget him and I hope this small story can give your hearts some support at this difficult time. Sincerely, Kimberly Ralph West. Class of 1973, LBHS.

Everett W Jenkins

May 7, 2023

In 2022, I had a number of reunions. The second memorable reunion came on February 20, at the Aliante Golf Course in Las Vegas. On that day, my girlfriend, Ping, and I played golf with one of my high school track and cross country teammates, Commodore Wayne Stamper and his wife Becky. I had not seen Wayne since our 30th Year High School Reunion in 2001. We had decided to meet up in Las Vegas in hope of having dinner with our soon to be 85 year old cross country and track coach, the legendary Len Miller. Ping, Becky, and Wayne all enjoyed their round of golf. I managed to shoot an adventurous round of 119. After the round of golf, I treated the victors to a nice seafood dinner and Wayne shared the treasured cross country meet notes from our Golden League Junior Varsity Champion campaign of 1968. Wayne, who is an actual retired Navy Commodore, had kept the meet notes that Coach Miller wrote up after each cross country meet in 1968. On each sheet, Coach would make an assessment of notable individual performances and improvements. Coach would stress the need for dedication, discipline, and desire not only in athletics but in all aspects of life. Reading Coach's notes for the first time in some fifty-three years was almost like being 14 again. I almost wanted to go out and run two miles again, but, of course, that was never going to happen...never, never again.

Wayne and I had planned on meeting with Len Miller for dinner that weekend, but Coach was delayed. Wayne and Becky could not stay beyond the weekend, so Ping and I stayed the entire week and had dinner with Coach on Friday, February 25. Coach's home was adorned with memorabilia from his coaching glory years when he was the long time coach for America's greatest miler, Steve Scott.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Scott_(runner)

We talked about many things that evening but I had to remind Coach that I was never the world class athlete. I had two memorable moments as a high jumper, one was when I amazingly set the Class C school high jump record in May of 1969 and the second when I jumped over six feet for the first time in competition at the Glendale Relays in March of 1970. Coach had left Victor Valley by then, but he was at the Relays with his new Laguna Beach team. Somehow, I could hear Coach Miller cheering me on during the high jump competition as I was engaged in a duel with the hometown favorite, another skinny kid, by the name of Dwight Stones. The competition came down to me and Dwight. I cleared six feet on my first try that night, Dwight needed two tries. However, when the bar went up to 6' 2", I could not clear the bar. Dwight cleared the bar on his second try and won the competition. The next year (1971), Dwight grew to be 6'5" and won the State Championship, clearing 7'1". The year after that (1972), Dwight won a bronze medal at the Munich Olympics. And the year after that (1973), Dwight set the world high jump record at 7'6".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Stones

Dwight would go on to have a stellar career as an athlete. After his competitive days were over, he became a broadcaster where he would be the field event commentator for NBC for the Olympic Games for the next thirty years.

As for me, that night in Glendale was really my last big moment in high school track and field. For my performance that night, I received the silver medal and my Victor Valley coaches gave me a small plaque for being the Field Athlete of the Meet. However, I would never go any higher. It was as though without Coach Miller being around, I just did not have the motivation to excel in sports. As I told him that evening, in his Las Vegas home, he was the Wind Beneath My Wings and without him being around, I just was not able to fly.

Rest in Peace, Coach. You will be in my heart forever.

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

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