George William Miller

On July 3rd, 2018, our much loved and unique father and grandfather, George William Miller, passed away just shy of his 91st birthday. George was a person who loved to laugh and to make others laugh. He was a raconteur extraordinaire and reveled in telling jokes, often slightly naughty.

His first love was his beloved wife Dorothy. They married at the age of 19 on June 7th, 1947 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Fort Rouge. From that happy union they produced two beautiful daughters, Bonnie Louise in 1951 and Laurie Elizabeth in 1957. These three were the center of his world and the purpose of his life.

George was an engineer without a degree and a tradesman without a formal apprenticeship. He started as a welder at Alpha Manufacturing at the age of 15. Through hard work and an amazing ability to problem-solve George worked his way to become one of the founding members of Chicago Blower and finished his career as the Manager of Production when it became Northern Blower.

There was nothing that George could not design, build or fix. If what he needed did not exist he would simply invent it. The achievement of which he was most proud was the family cottage at Lester Beach. He built it using the salvaged lumber of an old Safeway store and windows reclaimed from railway cars. The cottage and the summers spent there were happy times! Lots of fun was had with family and neighbours who became lifelong friends. A special tradition was Thanksgiving at the cabin with three generations of the family.

This cottage at Lester will continue to be a hub for the West Coast family. Down the cul-de-sac you can find the Winnipeg family in their Lester property.

Childhood was not easy for George. He was born on August 4th, 1927. His father, William George Miller, died from war wounds in 1930 when George was three. This left him, the youngest of six children and the only son. His mother and sisters relied on him for many things from an early age. He took these responsibilities seriously and did his best to help the family. From these experiences George learned the value of hard work and determination. These are the values he was able to instill in his children and grandchildren. Very positive influences on his life were his in-laws, Dorothy and Duke Thompson, who he considered his other mother and father.

George was a lifelong fan of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He attended his first game by slipping over the fence into Osborne Stadium at the age of 14. He and Dorothy had season tickets for decades and he remained a devoted fan for 75 years. During the last few years, his favourite thing was to have a tailgate party with the Clements. He wore his Bomber hat every day and spent one of his last evenings watching a game on t.v. in the hospital.

George had many passions besides his family and the Bombers. In no particular order they were: perfect bananas, shopping in Superstore (not Safeway), IKEA, travelling throughout North America with Dorothy in their Getaway Van, creating anything from wood, Model A Fords, planning renovations to his homes and cottage, The Sylvia Hotel and English Bay, Moby Dick’s in White Rock and Trolls at Horseshoe Bay, oysters, cold beer and red wine.

George will always be loved and never forgotten by his many friends and family.

He is survived by his daughters, sons in law and beloved grandchildren: Bonnie and Spencer Clements (Meghan and Ashan, and Christopher), Laurie Miller and Gerald Donkersgoed (Luke and Samee, Kelly and Adam). His nephew Jack Jansen and niece Lynn Thompson Halley and her family.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 7, 2018 at 10:00 am at Thomson “In the Park” Funeral Home, 1291 McGillivray Boulevard

If friends so desire to make a donation in his name, George’s favourite charity was Cancer Care Manitoba.