Howard G. Miller, 91, of Mendota died Oct. 8, 2013.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in St. John's Lutheran Church, Mendota with a graveside service to follow at Restland Cemetery, Mendota.
Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. Friday in Merritt Funeral Home, Mendota.
At Restland, Howard will be back where he started — just across the road from the farm on which he grew up. He was happy in Mendota and never wandered far.
He was born to Frank and Frances (Willard) Miller and learned to work and love the land from his father, his "buddy."
At a roller rink in Rochelle he spotted a gal he liked and asked her to a late show. He and Doris Hays married in 1952. They waited awhile to have kids whom they eagerly and tirelessly provided for and nurtured.
Early on Howard ran a milk route, hauling farmers' cans to the dairy. He had a passion for trucks and for years sent them into fields to haul for Del Monte.
He was hired at the L.J. Stephenitch & Sons implement dealership and continued working with the family long into its hardware store years. He also worked for Motor Wheel, retiring in 1994 after 29 years.
Howard loved tools, trucks, tractors and farms and would gladly chew your ear about them if you just got him going. He was easy going, with a quick sense of humor. In later years, the quips came gently, at his own expense. "This chair and I are well acquainted," he was fond of saying.
Most of all, he enjoyed his family and forever found chances to tell his children how proud he was of the lives they'd built, even if that took them away from Mendota.
He is survived by his children, Daryl (Daniel Gaines) Miller of Santa Monica, Calif., and Diane (Tom) Cessna of Bloomington; grandchildren, Alexandra and Ian Cessna; and by the many nieces and nephews of the Walzer, Full and Hays families.
His wife, Doris, died July 2 this year. He didn't live long after. He also was preceded in death by his parents and by his sister, Doris Walzer.
Memorials may be given to the family for charitable distribution.