Merlin Elias Miller

Merlin Elias Miller was born December 29, 1929 in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Raymond H. Miller and Gladys Case Miller. On February 14, 1949, Merlin married his eternal sweetheart, Beverly Jean Bolin, in the Salt Lake Temple. The marriage was solemnized in that temple by an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Harold B. Lee.

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In 1930, Merlin’s family lived in Salt Lake City, where Merlin’s father engaged in his profession as a printer. The family later moved to Los Angeles, California where Merlin received his education through junior high school. His family then relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah where Merlin attended West High School graduating in 1947. Merlin continued his education at the University of Utah, earning an Associate of Business degree. While at the university, Merlin was an active member of the university’s ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corp).

Merlin began his career at Mountain Fuel Supply Company in 1948. His career was interrupted in the fall of 1950 when his Army National Guard Unit was activated, and Merlin was sent to Korea. While serving in active duty, Merlin was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor. Merlin received an Honorary Discharge from the service in August of 1952.

Returning to Salt Lake City, Merlin resumed his career at Mountain Fuel Supply Company where he continued working for 40 years. He held various positions at the company before retiring in 1988. For the better part of his employment with Mountain Fuel Supply, Merlin served as Supervisor of Building Services. Merlin was well respected in his company. Several of his associates described Merlin as a “guy everyone liked.” Merlin volunteered to chair several charitable services for Mountain Fuel.

Merlin was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and served in many callings (assignments) including M-Men (young adult organization), Sunday School, and as Ward Clerk. During his residence at Cottonwood Creek Senior Living, Merlin accepted the assignment to bless and administer the sacrament. He was so dedicated to this assignment that Merlin missed fewer than a handful of Sacrament Meetings during his more than four years residing there.

Merlin and Beverly, his wife, who he referred to as his “best friend”, enjoyed many wonderful experiences during their 52 years of marriage, including spending time with family, camping, fishing, traveling, and cruising. When Bev retired, Merlin and Beverly purchased a second home, this one in La Verkin, Utah. They called this vacation home their “Rainbow’s End”. A devoted husband, Merlin cared for Beverly during her declining years, caring for her tenderly through the years of her battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. He talked of these years of his service to Bev, as the best years of his life, and when Bev passed away in 2003, Merlin missed her tremendously.

Merlin could build or fix anything. He finished the basements of three of his homes. Merlin was also the Go-To Guy for any remodeling or repairs Bev’s mother needed done. He made it very clear that he loved Bev’s mother and all of Beverly’s family, who became “my family” the day he and Bev were married.

During his last four years life, Merlin resided in an assisted living environment. Though he experienced his own health issues, Merlin was always looking for ways to help others be more comfortable, whether he was pushing a wheel chair to help another resident get to the dining room faster, pulling back the chair to help someone get into their seat, or offering a treat to the caretakers, employees, and visitors who came into his apartment. Perhaps a friend and business associate of his best described Merlin’s interaction with his fellow beings, saying, “Merlin is the only person I know who truly was liked by EVERYONE who knew him.” In business and in his personal life, Merlin Miller was known for his integrity, dependability, kindness, and generosity.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, private family services for Merlin will be held by invite only. Others are encouraged to watch the services that will be live streamed via Zoom at this link: https://zoom.us/j/8012981564. Those services will be held Monday, November 30th, 2020 at 1:00 PM through Memorial Murray Mortuary. Interment will follow at Larkin Sunset Gardens.

Instructions to join are as follows:

1. Joining by computer

a. Go to zoom.us in any internet browser

b. Click “join meeting”

c. Enter the meeting id - 8012981564

d. A box will open saying “https://zoom.us wants to open this application”. Click “open

zoom”

e. Click “Join with Computer Audio”

f. Click “Mute” in the bottom left hand corner so that your audio does not interrupt

the funeral services

2. Joining by phone or iPad

a. Download the Zoom app

b. Open the app and select “join a meeting”

c. Enter the meeting id - 8012981564

d. Select “join without video”

e. Select “Call using internet audio”

f. Select “mute” in the bottom left hand corner so that your audio does not interrupt

the funeral services.