Obituary for Mr. Darrell Gale Miller
DARRELL GALE MILLER
August 16, 1943 - October 25, 2022
Mr. Darrell Gale Miller, age 79 years, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, October 25, 2022.
Darrell was born in Fort William on August 16, 1943 to Allan and Mina Miller. He and his many siblings grew up on West Christina Street where he made countless lifelong friends. He was always very proud to have grown up in Westfort.
Darrell married Joan Hearn on October 9, 1965 and they had their children April, Tracy, and Michelle. They built their family home in Oliver Paipoonge on Highway 11/17 in 1968. His family has fond memories of all the dinners, parties, and pool days hosted there.
Darrell started out his working career as an electrical apprentice working for Beals Electrical. A few years later he joined his dad to become a Husky Fuels distributor (Miller Fuels). He always had many interesting stories to tell about delivering fuel in the surrounding areas. In 1968 he needed well tile for his house and ended up buying not only the well tile but also the forms to produce them. For the next seven years he delivered fuel during the day and made well tiles, sidewalk slabs, and septic tanks at night and on the weekend. In 1975 Darrell decided to commit full time to the precast concrete business and started Miller Precast Ltd. (and later Lockstone Yard and Patio Centre among other business ventures). Joan also left her job to do the books for the new business. Darrell remained the president for 47 years until his passing. He cherished every day he spent working alongside his wife, son, and grandsons and took pride in knowing that his work would be carried on.
Darrell loved fishing and camping and spent many enjoyable summers on the lake, most recently at Maki Bay Landing with great friends. He enjoyed taking his bus (when it made it) to the states for dirt track races as well as the annual Back to the 50’s car show. His grandkids had a hard time keeping up to him as many, many miles were walked daily. Attending the races on Wednesday night at Thunder City Speedway was a highlight of his last summer. He was an avid classic car collector and was always looking to expand his collection. You could always find him in the garage at night working on his cars. Darrell spent many years volunteering for the I-500 snowmobile race and the Thunder Bay Adventure Trails organization, sometimes breaking a few bones in the process. Darrell always looked forward to dinner and the Thunderwolves hockey games with friends on a Friday or Saturday night.
Darrell loved spending time with his children, grandchildren, and most recently great grandchildren. He was known to tease his grandchildren at every available opportunity. He took great pride in sharing his knowledge and skills with them. They could always rely on him to not only help with a project but to also take the time to show them how to do it. Darrell always had a project of his own on the go and just when you thought he was finished he would come up with another one.
Darrell is survived by his wife of 57 years, Joan (nee Hearn); children April Canali (Anthony), Tracy (Heather), and Michelle Richard (Frederic); grandchildren Sierra, Logan, Devan (Adena), Brody (Madison), Jared (Julia), Aramis, and Clementine; great grandchildren Callum and Mae; siblings Bernita (Clarke) Rabideau, Lyndon, Cecil (Karen), Lea Peterson, Kim (Tracy), Jan (Rosemary), and Cindy (Bob) Hill; numerous nieces and nephews, as well as many lifelong friends.
He was predeceased by his parents Allan and Mina, his parents-in-law Lloyd and Lena Hearn, and his brother Dean.
Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at The Da Vinci Centre (340 Waterloo St S), followed by a luncheon. A private interment will take place at a later date.
Memorial donations can be made to the Northern Cardiac Fund at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the WESTFORT CHAPEL, 420 West Gore Street at James.
August 16, 1943 - October 25, 2022
Mr. Darrell Gale Miller, age 79 years, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, October 25, 2022.
Darrell was born in Fort William on August 16, 1943 to Allan and Mina Miller. He and his many siblings grew up on West Christina Street where he made countless lifelong friends. He was always very proud to have grown up in Westfort.
Darrell married Joan Hearn on October 9, 1965 and they had their children April, Tracy, and Michelle. They built their family home in Oliver Paipoonge on Highway 11/17 in 1968. His family has fond memories of all the dinners, parties, and pool days hosted there.
Darrell started out his working career as an electrical apprentice working for Beals Electrical. A few years later he joined his dad to become a Husky Fuels distributor (Miller Fuels). He always had many interesting stories to tell about delivering fuel in the surrounding areas. In 1968 he needed well tile for his house and ended up buying not only the well tile but also the forms to produce them. For the next seven years he delivered fuel during the day and made well tiles, sidewalk slabs, and septic tanks at night and on the weekend. In 1975 Darrell decided to commit full time to the precast concrete business and started Miller Precast Ltd. (and later Lockstone Yard and Patio Centre among other business ventures). Joan also left her job to do the books for the new business. Darrell remained the president for 47 years until his passing. He cherished every day he spent working alongside his wife, son, and grandsons and took pride in knowing that his work would be carried on.
Darrell loved fishing and camping and spent many enjoyable summers on the lake, most recently at Maki Bay Landing with great friends. He enjoyed taking his bus (when it made it) to the states for dirt track races as well as the annual Back to the 50’s car show. His grandkids had a hard time keeping up to him as many, many miles were walked daily. Attending the races on Wednesday night at Thunder City Speedway was a highlight of his last summer. He was an avid classic car collector and was always looking to expand his collection. You could always find him in the garage at night working on his cars. Darrell spent many years volunteering for the I-500 snowmobile race and the Thunder Bay Adventure Trails organization, sometimes breaking a few bones in the process. Darrell always looked forward to dinner and the Thunderwolves hockey games with friends on a Friday or Saturday night.
Darrell loved spending time with his children, grandchildren, and most recently great grandchildren. He was known to tease his grandchildren at every available opportunity. He took great pride in sharing his knowledge and skills with them. They could always rely on him to not only help with a project but to also take the time to show them how to do it. Darrell always had a project of his own on the go and just when you thought he was finished he would come up with another one.
Darrell is survived by his wife of 57 years, Joan (nee Hearn); children April Canali (Anthony), Tracy (Heather), and Michelle Richard (Frederic); grandchildren Sierra, Logan, Devan (Adena), Brody (Madison), Jared (Julia), Aramis, and Clementine; great grandchildren Callum and Mae; siblings Bernita (Clarke) Rabideau, Lyndon, Cecil (Karen), Lea Peterson, Kim (Tracy), Jan (Rosemary), and Cindy (Bob) Hill; numerous nieces and nephews, as well as many lifelong friends.
He was predeceased by his parents Allan and Mina, his parents-in-law Lloyd and Lena Hearn, and his brother Dean.
Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at The Da Vinci Centre (340 Waterloo St S), followed by a luncheon. A private interment will take place at a later date.
Memorial donations can be made to the Northern Cardiac Fund at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the WESTFORT CHAPEL, 420 West Gore Street at James.