Benne (Ben) Leroy Miles

Ben was born in Yakima, Washington in 1942 and grew up on a farm with his family. His father died an untimely death when Ben was only 19 forcing him to make hard decisions. He graduated from Central Washington University in 1964 and elected to join the Air Force where he led a talented fighter jet maintenance group. He married Jean in 1966 before serving a tour in Vietnam. He was near the line of fire and eventually flown out in an emergency evacuation in the dead of night. Ben left the military and took night classes to learn computer programming in the early 1970's. He was hired by USAA and went on to become an extremely accomplished programmer, developing many systems that are still in place at USAA today. He never stopped learning which led him to accomplish many side projects such as fine woodworking, master metal work, housebuilding, world traveler, and world class skier.

He firmly believed that there is nothing you can't do and not to worry about things. Everything will always work out in the end.

One of his final accomplishments was to reach the peak of Mt. Kilamanjaro at the age of 76. The locals lovingly referred to him as Babu, meaning grandfather in Swahili.

He lived a full life and was grateful for good friends, loving family, and the opportunities to take on challenges big and small.

He is survived by his daughter, Kathryn Miles Pearson from Montana, his grandson Cole Rollin Pearson of Texas, and his brother Raymond Miles of Arizona.

A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 at 9:15 a.m. at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

CELEBRATION OF LIFE HONORING BEN AND JEAN

TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2022

11:00 A.M.

THE MILES FAMILY HOME

Lunch and drinks will be served.

Ben's wishes was that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the American Cancer Society.