Benny Earl Miller of rural Quapaw, Okla., formerly of Picher, Okla., passed away on Sunday, April 20, 2014 at Freeman Hospital in Joplin, Mo. He was 72.
Benny was born Aug. 28, 1941 in Picher, Okla. to Howard and Delma (Poynter) Miller. He had lived in Picher all his life before moving to rural Quapaw in 2007. He was a 1958 graduate of Picher-Cardin High School. He attended N.E.O. A&M College in Miami where he played football in the Junior Rose Bowl Championship game against Santa Monica College in 1958. Benny graduated with a Master’s Degree in Accounting from Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo.
He worked as plant controller for the Jayhawk Plant in Riverton, Kan. for many years and also owned and operated Miller Tax Service. He served in the Oklahoma National Guard and coached Little League Baseball and Pee Wee Football. Benny was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Miami, Okla.
He married Sheryl Searle on Jan. 30, 1965 in Picher. She survives of the home.
Additional survivors include two sons, Bryan Miller of Baxter Springs, Kan. and Michael Miller of Dallas, Texas; two daughters, Marla Woodmansee and her husband Ray of Branson, Mo. and Cadence Miller of Quapaw, Okla.; three sisters, Ginger Anderson of Carthage, Mo., Kay Eubanks of Welch, Okla., and Sue Sigle of Branson, Mo.; six grandchildren, Logan Creger, Sami Jo Miller, Alexa Creger, Shelbi Miller, Nathan Woodmansee, and Lydia Woodmansee.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at First Christian Church in Miami. Rev. Dr. Marla Woodmansee will officiate. Pallbearers will be Burly Grimes, Lloyd Stone, Robert Myers, Phillip Suman, Larry Heatherly, Frank Woods, Johnny Sparkman and Nick Kellum. Honorary Pallbearers will be Rascal Garner, Dale Owens, Mike McCoy, Jerry Bayliss, Paul Thomas, Larry Linthicum, Jeff Reeves, Ted Dalton, Sam Freeman and Sammy Freeman. Interment will be in Greenlawn Cemetery, southwest of Columbus, Kan. Services are in the care of Paul Thomas Funeral Home of Miami, Okla. Online condolences may be made at www.paulthomasfuneralhomes.com.
