Mark Miller
Obituary
Mark Eldon Miller, 92, of Newton, died
Thursday (July 4, 2019). He was born April 30, 1927, in Newton, the
son of Clark and Elsie (Kimball) Miller.
Mark worked in the family business,
Miller Produce, from a very young age until the age of 16, when he
was asked by John Early of Newton to run his poultry and egg business
while he was ill. Mark joined the Navy during World War II when he
was 17.
Mark met his wife, Doris Mae Gilmer, in
Peabody the first evening he returned home from the Navy. They were
married April 3, 1949, in Newton and had two children, Mark Allan and
Brenda. Doris preceded Mark in death on March 26, 2005.
Mark was a successful businessman. Upon
returning from the Navy in 1947, he went to work for Hurst Foods
driving a flatbed truck, picking up poultry and eggs all over Kansas,
Nebraska, Iowa and locally. He was soon offered the opportunity to
purchase a poultry, cream and egg business in Burns, which he
accepted, becoming a young 20-year-old businessman and owner of Mark
Miller Produce on Dec. 1, 1947.
Once Mark started Mark Miller Produce,
he not only bought and sold poultry, eggs and cream, but also bought
and sold fertilizer, hides and wool. By 1966, the business focused on
buying, packing and selling eggs. Mark's brother, Dale, from
Florence, went to work with Mark and stayed with him until the
business closed in 2002 after 55 years in operation. Mark continued
in business with his son, Mark Allan, until the day before he last
entered the hospital on June 22. They operated Bestmark Express,
Inc., a trucking firm in Strong City.
Mark served on the Burns City Council
and served as Mayor for two and a half terms. He was president of the
Kansas Poultry Association for three years.
Mark's favorite job was that of
"greeter" for 39 years at the Newton Foursquare Church, now
Hillcrest Community Foursquare Church, where he was a member for most
of his life. It was most important to him to make the people coming
through the doors to feel welcome. He said the handshakes, smiles and
hugs made him feel he was doing his job well.
He returned to Newton in 2002 and so
loved all of the people he saw on a daily basis. His life in these
last years was made better by the many friends that he made on his
daily Drubers run, visits to the post office and bank, and many
dominoes games. He truly looked forward to seeing their smiles as he
was able to tell his stories to these friends. Most of all, in the
later years, God blessed Mark and his daughter Brenda with Pat
Dorsett - caregiver, domino player, friend and listener. She enabled
Mark to stay in his own home and continue to drive and live life
until the very end.
In addition to his wife Doris, Mark was
preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Dorothy (Glenn) Ashcraft
and Shirley (Bill) Hall; and brother, Vern Miller.
Mark is survived by his son, Mark Allan
Miller of Strong City; his daughter, Brenda and her husband Steve
Brackeen of Newton; three brothers, Dale Miller of Florence, Neil
(and Melva) Miller of Wichita and Sam (and Bonnie) Miller of Hesston;
sister, Becky (and Mike) Crupper of Hesston; and sisters-in-law,
Elizabeth Miller of Hesston and Maxine Gilmer of Medford, Oregon. He
also leaves five grandchildren: Heather Kueser (and Tommy) of Canton,
Judd Brackeen (and Jennifer) of Newton, Matthew Miller of Strong
City, Michael Miller (and Michelle) of Strong City and Kara Miller of
Kansas City; 15 great-grandchildren; and a multitude of nieces and
nephews.
A funeral service in memory of Mark
will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday (July 12, 2019) at Trinity Heights
United Methodist Church, 1200 Boyd, Newton. The casket will be open
one hour prior to the service at the church.
Memorial gifts in Mark's memory may be
made to Hillcrest Community Foursquare Church.
