Ronald D. Miller, age 85, of Scottsbluff, passed away on Sunday, October 25, 2020. Cremation has taken place. Online condolences may be made by viewing Ronald’s memorial page at www.bridgmanfuneralhome.com. Bridgman Funeral Home and Cremation Services is entrusted with arrangements.
Ronald Dewayne Miller was born on May 16, 1935 in Hope, Kansas to Edna and Gordon Miller. A child of the Great Depression, Ron’s youth growing up on the family farm led to a life-long love of the land and family that wove itself though out his lifetime.
That enthusiasm for the land led him to Fort Hays State, where he majored in soil sciences, receiving a bachelor’s degree and becoming the inaugural recipient of the Bush Gross Award, in recognition of outstanding athletics, scholarship and leadership. Following graduation, he took a job as a range scientist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in South Dakota, where he met the other love of his life, Sonjia Anne Moul, of Gettysburg, S.D. They married in Dec. 1959, and raised daughter, Wendy, and son, Scott, before moving to Scottsbluff, Neb. in 1970.
Ronald became a local business owner, operating Miller Farm Home Oil Service, and when his children were in school, Ronald and his wife were involved in numerous organizations supporting local education and youth sports. Ronald kept a hand in the agriculture industry by supporting local youth involved in FFA and 4-H.
Ronald ultimately returned full-time to his love of the land, crop advising through Whole Farm Environmental Living Energy Services and promoting the advantages of healthy soil in crop production. He also continued to operate the family farm in Kansas, which he used as his own laboratory to experiment with different methods and materials to improve the life in the land.
Ronald’s family was always an important part of his life, and with his wife Sonjia, they reveled in the years of their grandchildren from Wendy and Steve Getzfrid, Stosh, Maggie and Emma, as the trio grew up. As those children became older, they reveled in the activities and family brought into their lives through Scott’s marriage to Polly Crist and her local extended family; son Brian, nieces and nephews Jesse, Justin and Tyler Baird, and Jada Ellsworth. And they even found some time for themselves, with frequent trips for casino gambling – what he lost at cards (usually), she almost always made up and then some with the slot machines.
Ron is survived by his sister Marylyn, daughter, Wendy (Steve) Getzfrid, grandchildren Stosh (Whitney), Maggie, Emma (Logan Bovill) Getzfrid, son Scott (Polly) Miller and their extended family.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Sonjia and his parents.
