Ronald Mark (Ron) Miller

June 1, 1959 - April 19, 2024
Ronald Mark (Ron) Miller passed away on April 19, 2024 in Denver, Colo. He was 64 years old. He was building a home and living in Manderson, Wyo. He is survived by his wife Jo Ann Deringer, his sisters Donna Miller and Marcie Miller, his daughter Liberty Winkler and her children Jude and Penelope, and the son of his heart, Benjamine Ward. He is preceded in death by his parents, Charles Samuel Miller and Donna Edmondson Miller.
Born on June 1, 1959, Ron was the only son of Sam and Donna Miller. He grew up in Golden, Colo., attending Fairmount Elementary, Drake Middle School and Golden High School.  Ron attended Montana Tech in Butte and loved Montana so much that he forgot to come back to Colorado for 15 years. Ron still has lifelong friends in Butte.  
When Ron was a young man, he enjoyed cars and loved to drive. He learned to drag race at Bandimere Speedway.  Ron had some success racing, which brought him joy but struck fear in his parents’ hearts.  Ron’s love of driving led him to long haul trucking, and over the course of several years, he saw nearly every state and much of Canada.
As it turned out, Ron’s true calling was not racing; it was working with wood. He became a talented log builder.  Ron was the proud owner of Timbersmith Log Homes. Ron’s skill in designing and building handcrafted log homes is evident in the many houses he constructed in a number of Colorado’s mountain communities and Wyoming. Ron took pride in training young log builders.  He gave them training and experiences in creating handcrafted log homes.  Ron had many skills and was always willing to lend his talented hands, time and thoughtful insights to his many friends.
Along with his sister Donna, Ron volunteered for the Collings Foundation, serving as a crew chief for historic warbird flights in the Rocky Mountain region. He had a deep respect for veterans and accompanied a contingent of WWII veterans to Hawaii on the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
Ron loved hanging out with friends, listening to music and riding his Harley. Although, he lived longer in Golden than in Manderson, he called Wyoming home. Ron loved country life. He was very happy seeing wide open spaces, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, deer and pronghorns playing in the yard, and lush green crops growing in the neighbor’s field. Ron and Jo enjoyed going to the town council meetings and keeping up with local happenings. They called it “date night.”

Ron was sad when his truck crossed over the cattle guard at the end of the driveway in Wyoming, he knew he probably would not be coming back. His short battle with lung cancer had already spread and he was very weak. Ron’s ashes will be brought home to the land he loved on the Nowood River of Bighorn County in Wyoming.
 
A celebration of Ron Miller’s life will be held at Calvary Episcopal Church, 1320 Arapahoe Street, Golden, Colorado on May 4th, 2024 at 1:00 pm. A reception will follow at Columbine Cafe 15630 S Golden Rd, Golden Colorado 80401.