Rev. Allan Wayne Miller, Sr

April 24, 1925 - January 21, 2016

Rev. Allan Wayne Miller, Sr., ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene, loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, went peacefully to be with his Heavenly Father on Thursday, January 21, 2016, at the Prestige Care Facility in Camas, Washington following a decline in health over the past year.

Allan was born April 24, 1925 to Omar Gideon and Lydia Matilda Snyder Miller in Nampa, Idaho. He was married to Shirley Alice Thorne on August 31, 1946 at Canby, Oregon Church of the Nazarene.

Allan was preceded in death by his parents Omar and Matilda Miller, his sister Ruth Baugher and two brothers-in-law. He is survived by his loving wife Shirley Alice (Thorne) Miller, a younger brother John Miller and his wife Doris, a younger sister Elizabeth Kennedy; son Allan Miller, Jr. and his wife Anne, son Ron Miller and his wife Elise, daughter Kathy Bynum and her husband Randy, son Randy Miller; five grandchildren, Angela Church and husband David, Aaron Bynum and wife Julie, Arlen Bynum and wife Lindley, Brittany Morehead and husband David, and Myles Miller; seven great-grandchildren, Caitlin, Hannah, Alysa and Eily Bynum, Gabriel and Ivy Oglesby, and William Bynum.

Allan attended Molalla Union High School in Molalla, Oregon, Hesston Academy and Junior College in Hesston, Kansas, Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho, where he received an AB in Religion, graduated Cum Laude, was a member of the Phi Delta Lambda Honor Society and graduated in 1951, and Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri where he received a Masters of Divinity in 1956.

Allan served in the U.S. Army from September 1946 to March 1948 where he received a WWII medal. He was discharged as a S/Sgt.

He also served in the Civil Air Patrol as a chaplain in the Florence, Oregon squadron, and also one year as commander of that squadron and Commandant of cadets. He was chaplain of the Clackamas squadron while pastoring the Church of the Nazarene in Gladstone, Oregon. He became the Deputy Wing Chaplain in charge of Chaplain education of the Oregon Wing, and for the Civil Air Patrol, which was based at the Portland Air Base. He retired from that organization October 25, 1972 with the rank of Lt. Col.

Allan pastored the Church of the Nazarene in Florence, Oregon from 1956-64, in Junction City, Oregon from 1964-66, in Gladstone, Oregon from 1966-76 and was a part of the pastoral team at Portland First Church of the Nazarene from 1998-2004. He continued in the following ministries in his retirement: Prison ministry, Bible Study at Marshal Union Manor retirement center in Portland, Oregon and as a volunteer chaplain at Marquis Care at Centennial, Portland, Oregon.

Following his retirement from ministry, Allan worked for Health Resources as head of maintenance at King City Convalescent, Mt. Park Convalescent and then at Gladstone Convalescent from which he retired in 1994. In 1996 he drove bus for Marquis, retiring from that job in 2003.

He held public office on the budget committee for the City of Florence, Oregon and for Western Lane Hospital. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Gladstone-Oak Grove since 1967, served three terms as president, twelve years as secretary, another nine years as treasurer and two years as program chairman. He received a Life Membership with Kiwanis in September, 1996 and the George F. Hixon Fellow award in 1999. He was given the Order of the Bullfrog by the Kiwanis Club of Milwaukie in 1994.

He was the first president of the Gladstone High School American Field Service Chapter. He received the Glad Dad award by the Gladstone High School in 1975, received a certificate of appreciation from the Gladstone Public Schools in 1976, and was given volunteer recognition by the Gresham Chamber of Commerce.

Allan loved food, especially chocolate. Chocolate pudding, hot chocolate, chocolate candies and chocolate ice cream were treats he enjoyed brought to him regularly by Shirley, Ron and Randy. The only thing that he didn’t like in the family’s recollection was okra. Some of his favorite sayings were “I’m on a ‘seafood diet’… I see food and I eat it”, “This food was musty…musty have some more”, “I’m sufficiently soronsified” (i.e., sophonsified, meaning "I've had enough to eat, thank you"), “Too Soon Olt Und Too Late Schmart!”

Allan loved to play word games like Scrabble, was often the winner, and did daily crossword puzzles, sharpening his mental and vocabulary skills. He also loved to do jigsaw puzzles. The family often sat around the table at special gatherings playing table games like Yahtzee, Zilch and Scrabble. In earlier years many games of Monopoly were played. His wife also remembers in his early years that he liked to build model airplanes.

Allan was a man of God who sought to serve God as a faithful servant in all that he did. In his final notes to his family he stated that his service was to be a celebration of his going home to be with the Lord, not a sadness on his passing away. He wanted us to celebrate God’s faithfulness. He wanted all to know that his passion was that anyone not right with Him would accept the gift of salvation. One of his favorite verses was Joshua 24:15: "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." This came true for Allan and his family as all of his family, his wife, children and grandchildren are serving the Lord. Praise God!

We invite you to join us in a service of celebration of his life on Saturday, February 6, 2016 at 2:00 pm at Grace Foursquare Church, 717 SE Everett Road, Camas WA  98607.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to Pathways Pregnancy Clinic in Camas, WA which Allan supported, or to a missions project at Vida Nueva Church of the Nazarene, Nampa, ID, where Allan’s daughter and her husband are pastors, three blocks from where Allan was born.

Donations for Pathway: Checks should be made out to Pathways Pregnancy Clinic* and sent c/o Randy Miller, 1971 Willow Drive, Camas WA  98607. 

Donations for Vida Nueva: Checks should be made out to Vida Nueva COTN* and sent c/o Dr. Randy Bynum, 309 9th Ave. North, Nampa, ID  83687.

Online donations can be made at www.vidanuevanaz.org.

*Please make a note that your donation is a memorial for Allan W. Miller, Sr.