Celebration of life planned for beloved late-educators

Legacies of Bill, Larry and Ray Miller to be honored with memorial scholarship

By Reader Staff

For generations of Sandpoint locals, the Miller family played an outsized role in their education. Brothers William “Bill” Barton Miller, Lawrence “Larry” Randall Miller and Raymond “Ray” Paul Miller all worked in local schools for decades as teachers, coaches, administrators and mentors. On top of that, all three were indelible characters and local community fixtures.

Now, with the passing of Ray Miller on April 24 at the age of 81, all of the “Miller boys” are gone and the community is invited to gather to honor their lives and legacies at a celebration of life, scheduled to take place Saturday, Aug. 29 at 560 Sunnyside Road.

The event begins at 2 p.m., and all those who were influenced by the Millers are welcome to attend and share their stories while remembering the lives they lived — all of which began in Akron, Ohio, where each was born to C.O. Miller and Eleanor Myers Miller.

Bill came into the world first, on Sept. 26, 1938. After he graduated from high school, and with the death of his father in 1952, the family moved to Azusa, Calif., where Bill earned his degree at Cal Poly and participated on the rodeo team.

After that, Bill returned to Akron and taught at his alma mater, Coventry High School. There he married Nancy Jean Becher on June 29, 1963 before moving to Sandpoint in August 1971 with their children Jennifer and Steven, the former who preceded him in death.

Bill’s local teaching career began at Sandpoint Junior High, which was then located on Euclid Avenue, where he served as a teacher and assistant principal — later becoming the first principal of Stidwell Elementary School. He went on to Sandpoint High School and the assistant principal job, which he held until retirement in 1999. During those years, he worked alongside his wife, Nancy, who was also a teacher at SHS and remains an active community member and beloved former-educator in her own right.

Bill passed on Aug. 18, 2024 at the age of 85 in Sandpoint, leaving a life filled with hunting, fishing and cowboy shooting — all passions he shared with his brothers.

Larry was born Sept. 13, 1940 and, as with Bill and Ray, graduated from Cal Poly before finding his way to Sandpoint in the ’70s.

An avid outdoorsman, Larry was an elk hunter and angler, a Cessna pilot and cowboy shooter. As a member of the Single Action Shooting Society El Buscadero Posse, he was known affectionately as “Mr. Shorty.”

He taught countless students as a P.E. and health teacher, driver’s ed instructor, and football and wrestling coach. 

Larry and his wife, Barbara, who preceded him in death, raised two children — son Randy and daughter Rae — and was known by all as a devoted father and committed to his entire family, which included a great-grandson when he passed on Dec. 5, 2025, also at the age of 85.  

Ray was born on July 18, 1944 and attended Azusa High before attending Citrus College. However, his studies were interrupted after being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1967 and serving in Vietnam as a helicopter mechanic and gunner on the UH-1 “Huey.”

Following his service, Ray finished his degree in history at Cal Poly and joined his brothers in Sandpoint in 1971, where he initially worked for the U.S. Forest Service before beginning a 30-year career at SHS. He went on to earn a master’s degree in education and taught economics and world history, as well as coached football, wrestling, and track and field at SHS — including in 1997, when the Bulldogs won the state football championship.

Ray married his wife Betsy in 1978 in Sandpoint and the family welcomed daughters Ann and Meredith, by whom he is survived along with Betsy, two grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and other extended family.

In addition to his wide-ranging roles in the school system, Ray was also a longtime public servant, holding a seat on the Sandpoint City Council from 1982 until 2002, when he became mayor. He held that position until 2008, during which time numerous important projects were undertaken — including the groundbreaking of the Sand Creek Byway.

As with his brothers, Ray was passionate about the outdoors and the three shared countless hours exploring the landscape, hunting, fishing and participating in the El Buscaderos local chapter of the Single Action Shooting Society, in which he was known as “Kaniksu Kid.”

The family has established the Miller Brothers Memorial Scholarship, which will benefit students in the community that they served for so long. Send donations via Venmo to @Meridith-Karppinen or via checks made out to The Miller Brothers Family Memorial Scholarship Foundation, mailed to 705 Merton Ave., Sandpoint, Idaho, 83864.