Jerry D. Miller

Gerald Duane Miller passed away on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at Good Shepherd in Sauk Rapids, MN.
A private Celebration of Life will be held.
Jerry was born on September 26, 1936, in Canby, MN and raised by his mother, Emma Miller and aunt, Ruth Miller. He graduated from Marshall High School in 1954. He then began his career as an Electrical Engineer with Honeywell in Minneapolis, MN. In 1969, Jerry moved back to Marshall, switching careers to become an electrician with Burke Electric. Shortly after in 1972, he moved to St. Cloud, where he began working for Cold Spring Electric. In 1989, he and his family settled in Mille Lacs Lake and started his business, Miller Electric, from which he retired.
Jerry and his wife, Kay were married for 51 wonderful years and worked hard to create a family home on Mille Lacs Lake, where they enjoyed many years of lake life with the kids, grandkids, family and friends. The Fishing Opener in May was an annual family holiday, and every August they attended the Bayfront Blues Festival in Duluth. Together Jerry and Kay were founding members of the Mille Lacs Trails Snowmobile Club.
Jerry was a Master Electrician, blessed with an abundance of common sense and practicality, he was a builder, a fixer, an original DIYer. If it could not be bought, it was built, and if it broke, it was fixed. He brought true meaning to the term “Jerry-Rigged”.
Jerry was an outdoorsman, a fisherman, a hunter, a birder, and a snowmobiler. There weren’t any better places in the world than Mille Lacs Lake, or Mahkwa on Lac Seul, or Hunting Camp in Togo, either sitting in his fish house on early ice in December, or the driver’s seat of his boat, or his deer stand on a cold November morning.
Jerry anxiously waited for the annual migration of Pine Siskins, the arrival of the tree swallows, and when to get the feeders ready for the hummingbirds and orioles. In the fall, Jerry enjoyed weekends with his granddaughters, picking apples, and baking pies.
Jerry’s yearly calendar was not based on months, but rather on seasons and events; the Fishing Opener, the Canadian Fishing trip (30 years), Grouse Season, Deer Hunting, Ice Fishing, and the first snowmobile ride. He used to say, “if you invite me to a wedding, it better be in March, because after that I’m not available.”
Later in life, after Kay passed away, Jerry found love again with Eunice Black. Together they enjoyed family events, live music, dancing, watching sports (both the Vikings and basketball), many games of Scrabble, early morning coffee, and an evening brandy.
For many of Jerry’s later years, his constant companion was Nici, his Springer Spaniel. They did everything together; fishing (Nici loved being in the boat), hunting, morning coffee (with a piece of toast for Nici), taking long walks, and together they enjoyed a constant battle of wits, with Nici stealing Dad’s socks, playing keep-away with a dish towel, or Nici taking a swim in the cold lake just before bedtime.
He is survived by his partner, Eunice Black; children, Lynn (Carl) Hoang, Jon (Desiree) Miller, and Paul (Tina) Miller; grandchildren, Destinee (Jeff) Schmidt, Sara (Tom) Cunningham, Alex Miller, Alisa Hoang, Melanie Hoang, and Lucas Hoang; great grandchildren, Benjamin, Isabelle, Emma, Mia, and Titus.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Donald Miller and Emma Miller; aunt, Ruth Miller; loving wife, Kay Miller, and best friend Nici, a loving Springer Spaniel.