Obituary-Jerry Kelly Miles

 

Jerry Kelly Miles, beloved father, grandpa, uncle, and friend, passed away on May 5, 2024, in Logan, Utah. He was eighty-eight.

Jerry was welcomed into the world on June 14, 1935, in Montpelier, Idaho, by his parents, Franklin Wakefield Miles and Grace Joy Hackbarth, and older sister, Joy. He often joked that Joy was so upset by his arrival that she climbed a tree in their backyard and refused to come down.

During Jerry's youth, the family owned and operated the Miles Milling and Elevator Company on Tenth Street in Montpelier. The Miles Mill was known throughout the western states for its Turkey Red high-patent flour, preferred for its superior taste and baking qualities. Jerry worked at the mill every day after school until it was sold in 1946. Though its name has changed, the mill still stands at this location.

At the age of twelve, on a softball field, Jerry introduced himself to a beautiful girl with auburn hair named Joan Michaelson. He went home that day and told his mother that he had met the girl he was going to marry.

Jerry graduated from Montpelier High School in 1953. He participated in basketball, football, Seminary, and Future Farmers of America. He won awards for his excellence in debate and public speaking and served as student body vice president his senior year.

He was not averse to mischief. Jerry and several high school friends, including Joan, climbed "M" Hill under cover of darkness and painted the water tower a vibrant red. George P. Stock, mayor of Montpelier and Joan's grandfather, appointed Jerry and Joan to serve on the committee to determine the identities of the vandals. Needless to say, the perpetrators were never brought to justice.

When his father passed away unexpectedly in 1954, Jerry, at the age of eighteen, was tasked with caring for his mother and tending to the family dry farm. He married his childhood sweetheart, Joan Marie Michaelson, on June 30, 1955. They were later sealed in the Logan Temple.

The couple moved to Salt Lake City, where Jerry attended the University of Utah. His dream of completing law school was put aside when circumstances on the farm necessitated his return to Montpelier. They settled in Logan in 1961. Jerry was maintenance supervisor at Thiokol for many years, and in his later life, worked as a licensed general contractor.

Jerry lived a life of service. In 1969, he and Joan, with the help of several good friends, founded the Logan Jr. Football League, bringing little league football to Cache Valley for the first time. They contributed their own funds and took out a loan to raise $10,000 for uniforms and equipment. Over twenty-one years, hundreds of youth from the area participated in the program. Jerry and Joan were thrilled when Logan High School won its first state football championship in 1978.

Jerry was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in bishoprics in his home ward and at USU.

He will be remembered best for the quiet service he rendered on a daily basis. Jerry was a skilled carpenter, plumber, farmer, electrician, and auto mechanic, and he used his knowledge and talents to bless the lives of others. If a neighbor needed Christmas lights hung, a garden tilled, or wheelchair ramp built, he was there to help.

Jerry loved beautiful scenery. Each winter he enjoyed snowmobiling as a family in Yellowstone. In the summer, he loved spending time at Joan's mother's property on the shore of his beloved Bear Lake. It was his favorite place in the world.

He was patriotic and immensely proud of his pioneer heritage. He loved country music, cowboy boots, Mt. Dew, football, and Chuck-a-Rama. Most of all, he loved his family. He will be greatly missed.

Jerry is survived by his children, Kristy Peterson (Jeff) of Logan, Jerry Kelly Miles Jr., of Newcastle, WA, Kimberly Miles, and Tiffani Corda (Tim), both of Logan, and by a niece, Kelly Apgood (Rick) of SLC. He leaves behind ten grandchildren and twenty-one great grandchildren, whom he adored. He was preceded in death by his wife, Joan, and sister, Joy.