MERLYN MILLER obituary

BILLINGS - Merlyn Henry Miller, 57, died of heart failure on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2005, while hiking the West Rosebud drainage in the Beartooth Mountains with his son, Nick.

Visitation will begin at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Michelotti-Sawyers, 1001 Alderson St. A funeral service will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 537 Grand Ave. in Billings. A reception and celebration of Merlyn's life will follow the funeral at the MSU-Billings downtown campus, at the corner of Third Avenue North and Broadway.

Merlyn was born in Havre on Dec. 9, 1947, to Henry Justus Miller and Ingeborg Tollefson Miller. He was raised on the family farm in Gildford and in Havre. He attended Havre schools and graduated from Montana State University in Bozeman with a degree in architecture.

On Oct. 3, 1970, he married Marilynn Semans in Havre.

Merlyn's special joy was his family: Marilynn, his wife of nearly 35 years; his daughter, Shelby; his son, Nick; and the newest light of his life, granddaughter, Maya. He was always there for his family and also was unfailingly loyal to his friends.

Merlyn embraced all of life with his characteristic smile. He would travel hundreds of miles for the right rock concert, tackle the backcountry with gusto, ski the deepest powder he could find, and go outside in a thunderstorm to immerse himself in the wonder of it.

In his free time, Merlyn put thousands of miles behind him on his Harley Davidson, sharing the open road with his wife and close friends. Artist and philosopher, he chronicled his motorcycle trips through sketch and prose in his journals.

He was active in Trinity Lutheran Church, a member and former board member of Billings Rotary Club, a member of Harley Owners Group, enjoyed shooting trap with his office team, and was an accomplished skier.

Merlyn began his career as an architect with Harrison Fagg in Billings. Subsequently, he was a partner/owner of Coxwell, Miller, Levine & Whittenbaugh, and later co-owner of Miller Levine Architects. For the past nine years, Merlyn was a senior project manager at CTA Architects Engineers. He was a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and past president of both the Billings Architectural Association and the Montana Chapter AIA.

Merlyn was preceded in death by his parents.

Survivors include his wife, Marilynn; daughter, Shelby (Scott) Haugan; son, Nicholas Miller; granddaughter, Maya Haugan; sister, Ardyce Endresen; brother, Rodney "Luke" (Joanie) Miller; many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and in-laws.

Memorials may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church or Yellowstone Art Museum.