December 30, 1918 – April 26, 2011
Lester Laverne Miller, known to all as Bumpas, died on April 26, 2011 in Oklahoma City. He was born to Fred Willard Miller and Sophia Lucinda Harpst Miller in Royalton, New York on December 30, 1918.
Bumpas earned a BS degree from Rider College in New Jersey and served as a Navigator in the Pacific Theater for the Army Air Corps from 1943 – 1945, when he left the service as a First Lieutenant. His decorations included the distinguished Flying Cross, the Asiatic Theater, Campaign Ribbon, and the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters. He had a successful career as a professional sales representative for several companies until his retirement in 1983.
He met Bettye Kathryn Nichols in Albuquerque in April 1945 and they were married on September 16th of that year in Oklahoma City. They were married for 65 years and had five children, Gayle Patricia Miller, who died shortly after birth, Fred Luther Miller, Dick Warren Miller, Anne Marie Miller Cook and Paul Roy Miller. He was a member of Grace Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, where he and Bettye treasured the congregation and its music ministry.
He was a long time Oklahoma City resident, an active youth baseball and basketball coach, an enthusiastic golfer who found more balls than he lost, and a lifelong avid fisherman who did not consider an empty stringer to be the sign of a bad day. He shared his love of the outdoors with thirty year fishing buddy, Brian Hall, for whom a weekend of fishing all day, eating peanut crackers and sleeping in a boat was a grand adventure. Bumpas was a dusk-to-dawn fisherman, a schedule we thought he would be unable to maintain on his summer trips to Alaska. We were wrong.
Bumpas was preceded in death by his parents, and brothers Elmer and Roger as well as daughter Gayle Patricia.
He is survived by his wife Bettye, brother Warren (Pete), sister Doris, sons Fred, Dick and Paul, daughter Anne, grandchildren Joshua Gillespie Miller, Lester Carr Miller, Jessica Jordan Miller, (children of Fred and wife Linda Gillespie Miller), Kevin Roy Miller and Alexis Joyce Leighanne Miller Henderson (children of Dick and wife Lindsey Nellie Paula Shuster Miller), Jason Lee Cook and Jacquelynn Anne Cook French (children of Anne and husband Vern Lee Cook) and Gary Simer (son of Paul and wife Donna Simer) and great grandchildren Luther Miller, Julian Miller, Alexander Miller, Ava Cook, Aidan French, Jenna French and Avery Simer.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 30, at 5:00 at Guardian Funeral Home’s West Chapel, 5820 N.W. 41st Street in Oklahoma City.
Please visit our website at www.guardianwestfuneralchapel.com to leave condolences for the family of Bumpas Miller, and to sign the online guest book.
Arrangements under the direction of Guardian Funeral Homes West Chapel, Oklahoma City, OK.
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