Obit of Miller, Thomas - Sequoyah County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Gene Phillips 31 Dec 2006 Return to Sequoyah County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/sequoyah/sequoyah.html ===================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ===================================================================== ::Pleasant Hills Memorial Park--Sebastopol CA Santa Rosa Press Democrat Published on June 29, 2004 Former Sebastopol city councilman and mayor Thomas F. Miller of Graton left a legacy of civic and community involvement when he died Saturday at 72 of cancer. "He was a kind person, a giving person," said his wife, Mary Miller of Graton. "He thought of other people more than himself." Miller, who served on the council from 1966 to 1990, was born in Hanson, Okla., and came with his family as a small boy to Sonoma County. After graduating from Analy High School in 1950, Miller enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was wounded in action during the Korean War and received the Purple Heart. After his discharge in 1953, Miller embarked on his life's work and graduated from the San Francisco College of Mortuary Science in 1957. He worked as a mortician in Guerneville and Napa and as an ambulance driver in San Francisco before obtaining his funeral director's license in 1961 and opening the Analy Mortuary, later the Analy- O'Leary Funeral Chapel in Sebastopol. Miller sold the mortuary in 1984, and worked in sales at C and W Ford in Sebastopol until he retired. Miller's career in public life began in 1966, when he won election to the Sebastopol City Council. He served six terms -- a total 24 1/2 years -- including six years as mayor. In 1972, Miller established the Sebastopol Kiwanis Club and served as the chapter president and then as lieutenant governor. He was a member of the American Legion Post 39, where he served as commander and post service officer for 13 years. He was also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a past president of the Redwood Empire Funeral Directors Association and a past president of the Sonoma County Mayors and Council Association. He also served as a trustee of the Sonoma-Marin Vector Control and Mosquito Abatement District for 29 years. He was active regionally on the Airport Commission and Flood Control Board. His years of public service were recognized in 1991 when he was named Sebastopol citizen of the year. In addition to his wife, Miller is survived by his children: Mary Kildahl of Napa, Sue Pilegaard of Forestville, and Kim Santos, Fred Kurzhals and Michael Kurzhals, all of Santa Rosa. He also leaves his sisters, Cherokee Helm of Eastland, Texas; Wanda Gardner of Graton and Bobbie Standridge of Santa Rosa; 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Visitation is Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. at the Pleasant Hills Chapel, 1700 Pleasant Hill Road, Sebastopol. The funeral service is at 11 a.m. Friday, also at Pleasant Hills Chapel. Burial will follow in the veterans section at Pleasant Hills Memorial Park. Donations in Miller's name may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1451 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa 95403. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Sequoyah County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/sequoyah/sequoyah.htm