On the afternoon of Friday, December 2nd, Curt Miller passed away while traveling in Bradenton, Florida. Curt was a loving and supportive husband of 38 years to Joyce Bodkin (Smith) Miller of Lafayette, father to Jessica (Smith) Baller (husband, Lance), and proud “Pa” to Catherine Joy, Sydney Ann, and Will Connor Baller of Littleton, Colorado. Lots of Bodkin nieces, nephews, great nieces, and nephews, and one great, great nephew survive.
Curtis Holman Miller was born September 14, 1951, in Adrian, Michigan. He was the son of Dwight and Reva (Selfe) Miller (parents deceased), and brother to Jerry Miller (wife, Karen) of Cary, North Carolina, and Sally (Miller) Fitzgerald (husband, Thomas) of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Curt’s additional family includes nieces and nephew: Nancy Stanton (Kelly) of Utah, Cassie Adelman (Nick) of Wisconsin, Molly Fitzgerald (Brandon) of Wisconsin, Jason Miller of North Carolina, Kaitlyn (Jake) Zapac of Germany. Great nephews and a great niece also survive.
Curt was an active member of Crestview Community Church, formally known as Crestview United Brethren in Christ, attending since the early 1980s. He served on the Board of Elders; taught adult Sunday school; organized and cooked for many youth group trips to Ichthus Music Festival in Wilmore, KY and Ohio; sang in men’s quartet and choir; organized church softball teams; helped serve Awana Club meals; led weekly small group studies; helped with the Fall Festival – usually manning the grill; oversaw outside maintenance/snow removal/mowing of the church property; and, was involved with several building renovations and projects. Always seeking to provide the most thorough Sunday School lessons, Curt’s kitchen table was covered with Bible commentaries, reference books, and copious notes. He detested the computer and only had a flip cell phone, thus, with his beautiful penmanship, hand wrote all notes.
A lifelong learner and follower of Billy Graham – having attended a crusade in Indianapolis years ago – Curt developed a passion for Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid ministry founded by the Graham family. Their efforts to help with cleanup and rebuild after hurricane damage, especially in the Southern United States, struck a chord with Curt prompting him to serve on seven Samaritan’s Purse trips including one in Florida at the time of his death.
Curt graduated from Blissfield High School, Blissfield, MI, Class of 1969. He played baseball for the Blissfield Royals under Coach Larry Tuttle. He was a proud alumnus of Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1973. He pursued a long, successful sales career in agriculture working for Smith Douglass Fertilizer, The Andersons, Rhone Poulenc Ag/Union Carbide Ag Products. He was employed by Indiana Crop Improvement Association in Lafayette, IN.
Curt remained active in sports, regularly participating in golf, shooting sports, and softball. He played softball with local Lafayette league and tournament teams like Lawn Man, Pillsbury, First Assembly Recreational Ministries (FARM), and many others, usually playing shortstop, or any position needed. He played twice weekly with the Senior Softball Team of West Lafayette and local church leagues (pitcher), until his death.
He was an avid hunter – squirrel and rabbit – while growing up in Michigan. After moving to Indiana, he took a serious interest in opening day of gun season for deer, earning several 8-point shoulder mounts in his man cave. The 2022 opening day of gun season did not disappoint. Though battling kidney stone discomfort, Curt was able to bag a nice, 8-point buck. After moving the buck significant distance by himself and loading the prize into the old green 1997 Chevy truck, Curt’s kidney stone discomfort disappeared. Many thanks to our Idaville, Indiana cousins (Mike Lamb, Julie Feeney, and Carrie Palmer), and late Aunt Mary Ann Bodkin (Lamb) Miller [Indiana Millers] for allowing Curt to continue to hunt on their family farmland.
As an adult, Curt sought out private clarinet lessons using the Boehm Fingering System and learned to play his Uncle Verl’s clarinet. Not surprisingly, he became proficient on the instrument, eventually learning how to transpose music, and playing at church and family gatherings.
Curt had many endearing nicknames: Curty, Curtis, Puke, Chief, Curt-I, Kirky, and of course – “Pa”. Ask anyone that knew him (pretty sure there are more!). Curt was also known for his love of black labs and his cherished furry friends through the years: Black Bart, Buster, Brodee, Boris, Bandit and mostly tolerated Gracie Lou, the “famous furry rat” aka the Cairn Terrier.
Curt was a member of the Wildcat Valley Rifle & Pistol Club and the West Lafayette Golf & Country Club. He enjoyed his 1950 Farmall H tractor, using it to mow fields and haul manure. He even once drove it in the Tippecanoe County 4H tractor parade. Curt enjoyed his beloved pop-up campers and often spent time at Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky and camping in Michigan, Mackinaw Island in particular.
There will be Visitation from 10:00 am until the time of the Celebration of Life Service at 12:00 pm on Friday, December 30th at Crestview Community Church (1400 Ortman Lane, Lafayette, IN 47909). In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Crestview Community Church or Samaritan’s Purse https://www.samaritanspurse.org/memorial-page/curt-miller-west-lafayette-in/.