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Robert Wilson Miller, Jr. |
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Robert Wilson Miller was born on Tuesday December 10, 1918 in Puyallup, Pierce County, Washington. His parents were May Violet Treahy and Robert Wilson Miller, Sr. His family was in Puyallup because his father had gone to find work there during World War I. The warended on November 11, just before he was born. He was born during the terrible Spanish flu epidemic and they could not get a doctor to attend the birth. His mother, May, told him that there were bodies of flu victims piled up on the sidewalks waiting to be removed at the time of his birth. Robert's family moved to San Pedro, California in 1919. As a boy he had a paper route and sold magazines and won many contests for selling the most papers. He was good in school and had many friends. He enjoyed all kinds of music. He loved classical, opera, and bands popular at the time. He played the violin. He enjoyed collecting stamps, going to the movies, the beach, and playing baseball. He liked roaming around town with friends. He made his own tennis racquet out of an old frame he found. He used to make carts to ride down 23rd street where he lived which was quite steep. He won a radio and he and a friend found a 25 foot board which they cut in half and put up a 50’ antenna for the radio. He was able to pick up countries as far away as Japan, German and England on the radio. Robert attended Point Fermin Elementary School, Dana Jr. High, and graduated from San Pedro High School in January, 1936. He graduated from Compton College with an AA degree in 1938 and attended University of Southern California from 1940 to 1947. He began working for North American Aviation in 1938 where he was rapidly promoted. He worked on the B-25 and the Mustang during World War II and the F86 Saber and F100 Super Saber after the war. He also worked on Saturn the Apollo booster and did some work on Apollo and the Space shuttle. As an adult he enjoyed playing tennis several times a week and sang in the church choir. He also enjoyed woodworking and working in the garden. For many years he had a beautiful dichondra lawn. He would spend hours weeding his lawn, weed by weed. Mostly he used a steak knife from the kitchen to dig out the weeds. He loved to read and enjoyed books by James Michener, Will and Ariel Durant, and Tony Hillerman. He also loved to travel and especially loved visting Hawaii. He would often take the family out on Sunday drives. He like to drive around the peninsula and stop for strawberries at the stands where the Japanese farmers sold their strawberries. When leaving on a long trip he would always say “here we go like a herd of turtles." He rarely cooked, but when he did he made bacon and eggs. He was also in charge of making toast when the family ate breakfast together. When he made cinnamon toast that had the icing on top he called it lava toast because the icing was so hot and he would take it out of the toaster with his knife and toss it with the knife to the lucky recipient. After Virginia died, he was the master of the microwave.He was a great handyman. He could fix almost anything around the house and had learned woodworking from his father. He made doll furniture, boxes with names in script cut with the jig saw, and useful items for the house like a key rack. Once he made Virginia a long handled dust pan so she wouldn’t have to bend over when she swept. He built a playhouse in the back yard and constructed a covered wagon and miniature log cabin for the children.He was a very loving father. Every morning he would leave for work very early before everyone woke up. He would make the rounds and kiss all of his girls goodbye before he left. He always helped with math homework. He would say “no Miller gets a C in arithmetic." He was proud of his girls and loved to take one to the bank with him on Friday nights. Almost every Friday when he went to the bank he would bring home a silly present for everyone which he called “Friday night prizes." One memorable present was collapsible scissors.He was also a very loving husband. He and Virginia had a playful, romantic, respectful relationship. He brought her little gifts and flowers and frequently took her out on Friday nights. In 1954 he joined the First Presbyterian Church of San Pedro and became a ruling elder in 1958. He frequently went to session meetings at the church and every Thursday he went to choir practice. He especially loved Handel’s “Halleluiah Chorus. After he retired from Rockwell International, he kept busy delivering meals on wheels, playing tennis, and remained active at the church. When his wife, Virginia, was sick with her final illness, he lovingly nursed her until the end. He died in San Pedro Hospital on November 10, 1997. His ashes are interred at Green Hills Cemetery in San Pedro.
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