Lester L. Miller

Born in Elsie Nebraska on August 23rd, 1931, Les was only 4 years of age when his family moved from Nebraska and soon settled in Oregon, where he would spend the majority of his life in West Salem.

Following his graduation from North Salem High School, Les married Freda (Cox) Miller on August 3rd, 1951. Their marriage flourished for 69 years and produced 4 children in the first 7 years. This nucleus of home and family became the center of their lives. They and their young family lived for short periods in Coos Bay and Corvallis before settling for good in West Salem.

Lester was preceded in death by his daughter Kimberly Miller (Salem). He is survived by his wife Freda and three of their children, Steven Miller, (Jan), (Australia), Eric Miller, (Salem) and Kelle Lute, (Scott), (Salem), 6 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by all.

Les spent the majority of his working life employed in sales. Primarily, selling parts and equipment to lumber mills and food processing plants in and around the Willamette Valley. After he retired from King Bearing in Salem, his love of socializing and driving were both put to good use as he delivered part time for FVM Co. and volunteered many years driving for the Red Cross.

Les loved to travel. He and Freda made numerous trips to Australia visiting their son Steve and his family and often stopping over at points along the way such as New Zealand and Fiji. Their adventures included cruising by ship with several trips to the Caribbean and the coasts of Mexico. Golf was often included as Les and Freda loved to golf. So much so they spent many years living in the golf communities of Salemtowne and Indio CA.

Les loved to observe the accomplishments of his grand, and greatgrandchildren as they participated in various events. He found great joy in all of them and continually commented on how wonderful they all were. His granddaughter expressed that “grandpa was always able to start up a conversation with anyone, leaving a lasting impression on everyone. He was able to pull off being such a pest and being so nice at the same time, hence the nickname-Pester."

A memorial of his life will be held at Bethany Baptist Church, 1150 Hilfiker Lane SE, Salem, at 2:00 pm on Saturday Nov. 21, 2020.