Linford James Miller, 69, passed peacefully from this life on November 17, 2022, after a five-month struggle with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Linford was born July 14, 1953, in Hutchinson, to Perry and Judy Miller. Delivered with learning disabilities, he was physically strong and blessed by the nurturing of his devoted parents. He completed eleven years in the Hutchinson special education program. Among his accomplishments was mastery of four-digit multiplication with pencil and paper.
In his youth, Linford was baptized on his confession of faith in Jesus and joined the Center Amish Mennonite Church of rural Hutchinson. One skill he honed was memorizing church members’ birthdays, giving him a conversational connection with people. He also roamed the parking lot to memorize the odometer readings of their cars.
Linford helped tend and till his mother’s large garden, assisted seasonally in the transplanting of plants at Stutzman’s Greenhouse, and loved to stack small square bales on his uncles’ hay wagons. In midlife, he cut lumber and shingle components at Sturdi-Bilt Storage Barns. His one-liners became legendary with his coworkers and all who knew him.
In 1999, realizing his need for a more structured schedule and supervision, his parents placed him at Faith Mission Home, a faith-based residential training program in Virginia for the developmentally disabled. He lived with three other men and their supervisors on a small farm for sixteen years. He experienced a good life under the patient and sacrificial tutelage of his Christian mentors. By 2016, due to his declining mobility and verbal communication, Linford needed to find a new home. So, at age 62 he moved to Mennonite Friendship Communities, where the staff has compassionately and faithfully served him. Staff members will long remember his big smiles and ready hugs, along with his limited communication punctuated by frequent admonitions to “Hurry up” and other catchphrases.
The family acknowledges and thanks the care team members of Faith Mission Home, Mennonite Friendship Communities, and Gentiva Hospice (formerly Kindred) for the genuine friendship and devoted service they freely gave us and our loved one.
Linford is survived by: his three brothers: Gary Miller (Rosanna) and Allen Miller, Hutchinson, Wilbur Miller (Shirley), Columbus, OH; two nieces and seven nephews; sixteen grandnieces and fourteen grandnephews.
Preceding him in death were his parents and fourteen aunts and uncles.
A visitation will be held from 5-7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 19, 2022, at Center AM Church, 7611 W. Morgan Ave., Hutchinson. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 20, 2022, at the church. The funeral service will be live-streamed (follow the link at centeramishmennonite.org). Burial will follow at the West Center Cemetery. After the burial, everyone is invited back to the church for a meal.