Don A Miller Jr.

Don Adair Miller, Jr. died on May 7, 2026 at the age of 84. He was born in Vancouver, Washington on October 27, 1941, raised there and in Bensenville, Illinois. He attended Notre Dame High  School in Niles, Illinois graduating in 1959. He attended the University of Idaho graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology in 1964. While there he served in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps and was inducted into the Epsilon Gamma Zeta chapter of Alpha Chi Lambda fraternity.
Don served in the Navy from 1964 to 1969 including in the Vietnam theater attaining the rank of Lieutenant assigned as Operations Department Head of the USS Samuel Gompers. Following his service he returned to the University of Idaho and earned his Master of Science degree in Geology in 1973. Also in 1973 Don married Patsy Breeser. Though they would eventually part, Patsy remained a friend of Don’s even in his declining years. 
Don worked as a field geologist for several years doing surveying, mapping, and paleontology projects, often camping alone for weeks at a time. He worked with the Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology in revising the geological map of Idaho and was employed for some years by Johns Manville. Another project during his career involved work at the Hanford nuclear site assessing its impact on the Columbia River. Don loved nature and the outdoors. After his geology career, he and Patsy moved to rural southwestern Wisconsin where they built the cabin in which they lived. He was an avid canoeist and organized many trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and the Chippewa Flowage often accompanied by friends and occasionally tenderfoot siblings and nieces. He took classes in gunsmithing and woodworking; a transport toboggan for winter camping was one notable product of these classes. He lived for many years in Mineral Point, Wisconsin and spent his last years under the devoted care of staff at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King, Wisconsin.
Don was predeceased by his parents, Don Adair, Sr. and Elsie Miller. He is survived by his brothers William (Stephanie Hemphill) and Terrence (Audrey), nieces and nephew: Sharon Miller,  Kimberley Miller, Evan Miller and Lauren Miller, cousins Marylee Hall and Johnny Ray Johnson, his former wife Patsy and friends from canoe trips.

Memorials can be made to Friends of the Boundary Waters, 8 E. Sheridan Street, Ely, MN 55731. Private services are pending.

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