The Miller Family

This Page last updated April 13, 2010

(See Miller Fire page with Newspaper article and photo)

Dorothy and Chad Miller Family

Our Home was destroyed by fire.

(Click Link)

Dorothy wrote:

14 August, 2008

ONE OF MY FIRST MEMORIES IS LIVING IN TEXAS, DON’T REMEMBER IF IT WAS MARSHALL TEXAS. BUT REMEMBER LIVING IN A TRAILER CAMP. ONE OF MANY. SEEMS LIKE SOME GYPIES CAME AND CAMPED OUT FOR A FEW DAYS, AND IT SEEMS THEY WERE LOUD AND PARTYING LATE INTO THE NIGHT, SEEMED SCARY AT THE TIME. THEN I REMEMBERED A LITTLE WHITE WOOD FRAMED HOUSE. SEEMS LIKE DAD PUT THE TRAILER WE HAD BEEN LIVING IN RIGHT UP AGINEST THE BACK DOOR OF THIS LITTLE HOUSE, AND PUT A PLANK OF WOOD IN THE DOORWAY SO WE COULD WALK THROUGH IT INTO THE TRAILER. US KIDS WOULD PLAY IN THE TRAILER. I REMEMBER ONE DAY MOM AND DAD WENT TO VISIT SOME NEIGHBORE’S JACK AND MARIE BARNS, AND WE WERE WATCHING OVER LITTLE VICKI. I THINK SHE WAS ABOUT 3, DONNA AND DON WERE IN THE HOUSE AND ME AND ROBERTA WERE IN THE TRAILER, AND WE THOUGHT SHE WAS IN THE HOUSE AND DON AND DONNA THOUGHT SHE WAS IN THE TRAILER. WELL, MOM AND DAD CAME HOME WITH LITTLE VICKI. SHE HAD WENT TO BE WITH MOM AND DAD AT THE BARN’S HOUSE. THEY LIVED SOMEWHERE BEHIND US THROUGH THE WOODS. AND LITTLE VICKI WALKED THREW THROUGH THE WOODS ALL BY HERE LITTLE SELF. BOY, DID WE ALL GET A BAD SPANKING. THEN I REMEMBER LIVING IN THE OLD HOUSE IN MARSHALL TEXAS. I REMEMBER THE FIREPLACE WAS SO BIG. AND THE BRICKS ON THE OUTSIDE WERE LEANING TO ONE SIDE NEAR THE TOP, LOOKED LIKE IT MIGHT FALL OVER. WE HAD A DOG NAMED TOY, I THINKED HE KILLED A LOT OF CHICKEN’S. I REALLY DID LOVE THAT DOG.

20 August, 2008

I REMEMBER WHEN AUNT PEGGY AND UNCLE ROY CAME OUT FOR A VISIT WHEN WERE STILL LIVING I MARSHALL TEXAS. AND THEY BROUGHT UNCLE ART. SAID HE USED TO PLAY BASEBALL ON SOME BASEBALL TEAM. AND THEY TOOK DON BACK WITH THEM. AND THEN ABOUT A YEAR LATER, OUR AUNT DOROTHY AND UNCLE MAX SENT MOM MONEY FOR US TO COME TO CALIFORINA. AND WE TOOK A BUS HEADED FOR CALIFORINA. SO WE LIVED WITH AUNT DOROTHY AND UNCLE MAX. AND THEN A WHILE LATER, I DON’T REMEMBER HOW LONG. OUR DAD CAME TO CALIFORNIA, AND HIM AND MOM GOT BACK TOGETHER, AND HE MOVED US UP TOWN WHITTER, IN A BIG RED BRICK HOTEL, ON 226 GREENLEAF AVE. WELL WE LIVED THERE FOR I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG, MAYBE A YEAR OR MORE OR LESS. THEN WE MOVED TO LONG BEACH. WHAT A AWFULL PLACE. WAS IN JR. HIGH BY THEN, FRANKLIN JR. HIGH. LOTS OF BLACK PEOPLE. WAS LIKE BLACK BOARD JUNGLE. IF ANY BODY REMEMBERS THAT MOVIE, THEY WILL KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT. THEN FROM THERE WENT TO POLY HIGH. WAS A LITTLE BETTER THERE. BUT I JUST HATED SCHOOL. WELL I’LL CONTINUE LATER.

22 August, 2008

WELL WHEN WE LIVED IN LONG BEACH , I MET CHAD, IT WAS AROUND NOVEMBER 1957. AND BY JANUARY 1958 WE WERE GOING TOGETHER. AND A YEAR LATER THE 22ND OF JANUARY 1959, WE WERE MARRIED. WE LIVED WITH CHADS PARENTS FOR ABOUT 6 MONTH’S AND THEN WE GOT AN APARTMENT IN UP TOWN LONG BEACH, A FEW BLOCKS FROM TOWN AND THE BEACH. WE DIDN’T HAVE A CAR YET, SO WE DID A LOT OF WALKING. TO THE MOVIES, MARKET AND SO ON. CHAD USED TO TAKE THE BUS TO WORK. HE WORKED AT THE LONG BEACH AIRPORT. AT THE RESTURANT THERE. IT WAS CALLED CLOUDS RESTURANT, HE WORKED THERE AS A DISH WASHER. HE BROUGHT HOME FIFTY DOLLARS AND FIFTY TWO CENTS A WEEK. AND RENT WAS FOURTY FIVE DOLLARS A MONTH. ALL ULITITIES PAYED. IT WAS A ONE BEDROOM FURNISHED APT. BUT WE SEEMED TO GET BY JUST FINE. WE WERE VERY HAPPY AND VERY MUCH IN LOVE. THAT’S ALL FOR NOW. CONTUNE SOON.

SEPTEMBER 26, 2008 Dorothy wrote:

CONTINUING ON CHAD AND DOROTHY’S LIFE.

WELL IN 1959 OUR FIRST BORN WAS RALPH, HE WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL BABY. WE LIVED IN A LITTLE DUPLEX APT. IN PARAMOUNT CAL. SMALL BATHROOM, KITCHEN AND A COMBANATION LIVING ROOM BEDROOM. VERY SMALL BUT CLEAN. THE KITCHEN WAS REALLY BIG WITH A KITCHEN NOOK. WE LIVED WALKING DISTANCE TO THE PARAMOUNT MOVIE DRIVE-IN. THEN WHEN ROGER WAS BORN IN 1963, WE WERE LIVING IN COSTA MESA CAL. HE WAS SO CUTE AN SUCH A GOOD BABY. MY LITTLE BLOND HEADED BABY BOY. FROM THERE WE MOVED TO NORTH LONG BEACH AND THEN BACK TO PARAMOUNT. AND THEN IN 1966, JULIE AND VICKI WERE BORN, WOW” TWINS. MY BEAUTIFUL LITTLE BABY GIRLS. FROM THERE WE MOVED TO TORRANCE CAL. WE LIVED THERE FOR ABOUT 5 YEARS. WE REALLY LIKED IT THERE, BUT THE HOUSE GOT SOLD SO WE HAD TO MOVE. THEN WE GOT A CUTE HOUSE IN REDONDO BEACH CA. SO NICE LIVING NEAR THE BEACH. WHEN THE GIRLS WERE ABOUT 10 WE BOUGHT A HOME IN BALDWIN PARK CAL. NEVER DID LIKE IT THERE, BUT IT WAS OUR FIRST HOUSE THAT WE OWNED. LIVED THERE FROM 1976 UNTIL 2001, WHEN WE BOUGHT HERE IN SEAL BEACH CAL. I JUST LOVE IT HERE. ALL OUR KIDS ARE MARRIED AND WE HAVE 3 BEAUTIFUL GRAND CHILDREN. RICHIE WHO IS 19, BREANNA WHO IS 14 AND STEPHINE WHO IS 5 YEARS OLD.

Dorothy and Chad Teenagers

CHAD and DOROTHY's WEDDING DAY 1-22-1959

IN THE BEGINNING

TWINS! JULIE AND VICKI & Proud Brothers

The 1970's

Leo and Roger 1992

Chad, Roger and Meg

Meg, Breanna and Roger

Richie, Megan and Roger

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 10:34 PM Dorothy provided the following information:

Rogers wife Meg's birthdate==march 5th 1948 in England

wedding date---july 29th 1990 mich.

Vicki and Riches wedding date----may 22nd 1987 la Puente,Ca.

Rich's birth date--- aug. 19, 1962 , new york

Julie and Doyle's wedding date---Dec. 29th 1994 , Los Angeles, Ca.

Ralph and Elaine's wedding date----- Jan.22nd., 2000

Elaine's birth date----- Feb. 3rd. 1944

Julie and Doyle Wedding Day Vicki and Rich Wedding Day

Miller Family Vacation Pictures June 2008

BREANNA & STEPHINE with CHAD

Chad and Dorothy & Roberta and Chad

Richie & Julie

Roberta & Chad

Stephine and Vickie & Chad

Delmar Collins

Donna and Leo

Roberta snd Breanna

Donna & Roberta & Dorothy

Dorothy sent these photos of Julie and Stephine and Doyle 29, October 2008:

Jessie and Stephanie July 2008

Stephanie in kindergarden

Ralph and Elaine

Ralph - Soundman 2008

Hollywood Writers Guild Strike 2008

"Live long and prosper"

Star Trek Crew Member Ralph

Star Trek Collection by Ralph Miller

Ralph and Sulu

These were taken Thursday August 07, 2008 at The Mirage in Las Vegas. We were all at a cocktail party thrown by The Roddenberrys. Ralph said that this was THE most thrilling moment of his life. George came up to him and chatted! A childhood dream come true.

Picard, Ralph, Elaine, Data

Old Sulu, Elaine, and New Sulu

Elaine and Andy Dick

Ralph and Elaine Story

Elaine Ann Harrison was born on Groundhog Day (February 2) on a cold winter night in 1944. Her tiny blond mom and tall red-haired dad were very excited to take home their first and only child, but there was a measles epidemic at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and both stayed 2 weeks! Unheard of today!

Elaine's dad Edward Radcliffe was a printer and her mom Audrey Mary Elizabeth Weller was a homemaker. Elaine's mom was known for her immaculate housekeeping, fine eye for finances, and amazing sewing prowess. She was not known for her cooking skills. Except for the sewing part, Elaine is her
Mother’s daughter. In her own words.....

"Mom says I was a very "active" (hyperactive) child, full of fantasy, as I had no siblings. From the get-go, I loved books and always remember Mom taking me to the public libraries, where we'd fill up shopping bags. You would think I would have loved kindergarten. Oh yes, I could not wait to get there: all those kids, a little play house right in the room, dolls, toys, ---this was 1949, when K was 100% play therapy. I screamed and cried for two solid weeks and made the class and teachers miserable. I missed Mom! One day the teacher took me into a closet and shook me and I promptly threw up all over her. My parents decided that I would not attend kindergarten, since it wasn't mandatory anyway.

My years at school flew by and I have many memories, still, of the years spent in those tall rooms with the hardwood floors. When it came time to choose a high school, the trouble started. I wanted to attend Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School--(and so would you!) It was brand new, modern with a swimming pool; it had been on the cover of Life Magazine and the ratio of boys to girls was 4 to 1. From the start, it had a reputation of being a party school. Think "Rebel Without A Cause" and you've got it.
I never ever played hookey, because I never ever wanted to miss the goings-on at school. When I graduated from the Cosmetology course in 1962, I knew zip about cosmetology, but had been editor of the newspaper and a cheerleader for 3 years..

As I began to mature a little, I realized that I was not happy in a beauty shop or an office, but suddenly got this urge to go to The University of Baltimore and major in journalism. You will notice a pattern here, in that it was primarily a law school and the ratio of men to women was 90 to 1. What fun! After graduating I married John Wegrocki in 1968 and we moved to California in 1973 so I could go to grad school at USC. How can anyone afford it today? At the time, I was given a 50% scholarship. We decided never to return to Baltimore: we loved California.

I worked for Irvine Schools for the rest of my working years and had gotten divorced in 1983. I married a guy I met at the health club, Danny Bach, and we divorced in 1998. Single again at the age of 54! I decided to retire, sell my house and see what the future held. This was the beginning of the Computer Age and I hopped right on the train.

Computer Dating sites were cropping up all over and most people were appalled at the idea, not me. While browsing thru the ads on People2People one day, I came across Ralph's ad. I loved his long hair and his ad name was Iwillloveyou. I sent him an email and he wrote back right away. We talked on the phone that week and agreed to meet in Seal Beach for dinner at a taco place.

I waited outside at the time we'd agreed on.....no Ralph. Then he called me from his cell: he'd taken the wrong freeway exit. I saw him drive by and motion that he was parking in the back, so I went into the restaurant. In thru the back door walked handsome Ralph with a red rose. I kissed him right on the lips! The restaurant applauded. We sat down, ate, and the rest is history. But......I had not told Ralph that I am 16 years older than he is. When he asked me my age, I said, "44, but a lady never tells her real age." Imagine how I cringed when he took me to meet his parents later that month and I found out that his wonderful mom is only 2 years older than me!

Ralph and I went to Vegas to get married by Elvis just 8 months after we met!

We bought a place in Seal Beach Leisure World and moved there with our
(then) cat Moe. Ralph and I love to travel and have been to England, Wales, and Holland together. Our real love is Hawaii and we try to get there twice a year. Hawaii no ka oe! We are fortunate to have Ralph's parents right here in Leisure World too--just down the street. My dad passed away but my mom is at a nursing home just a mile away, so I am able to see her every day. Good genes: she is 93!

How do I pass the time? I adore our cat Nemoe and like to play Literati, like Scrabble, on line. Reading is still a pleasure, and I always have an afternoon nap. I power-walk 4 miles every day and lift weights; I'm very manic about it---hey, it beats picking lint off the rug. Give the Nobel
Prize to the person who invented Prozac! --Elaine Miller

Elaine and Ralph Wedding Day

Elaine and Dorothy

OCTOBER 2008

Dorothy, Chad, Julie and Stephine

Chad and Julie, Pickin and Singing

Proud Grandma Dorothy

Julie making music

Proud Grandpa & Stephine

What a Doll!

Look out below!

Say what?

Harmony

See my new nails?

Proud papa Doyle and Stephine

Stephine, Doyle and Julie

Christmas 2008 morning and snow in there front yard a week before.

New Christmas 2008 Photos from Dorothy 01 January, 2009

Dorothy sent these pictures from her family album in December 2008

Cousin Billy Gandy 1950's (left) === Don Stamps, Donie, and Chad Early 1960's

Delmar Collins and baby Gene

Chad in the 1950's - Very Cool Dude

Ahh - The 50's

Donie at 16

Jenny and Beth and Don's 1st wife Penny (left) Jenny at 1 and 5 yrs old

Beth and Scotty

Penny, Beth and Jenny -- Dorothy and Don with baby Jenny 1959

Don 1960's (Skinny Dude)

Remember when smoking was cool? & The Hot Chick from Long Beach!

RALPH TURNED 50 ON AUGUST 12TH, 2009.

Elaine sent the following photos:

Congratulations Ralph!

Uncle Don says: I was only 20 when little Ralphie was born. Man, do I feel old!

Dorothy and Chad took a vacation in August 2009 to New Mexico, and sent the following:

We started out by train. It was just awful. 17 hours and thirty minutes of pure hell. Didn't get any sleep at all, even Chad couldn't sleep. Normally he can sleep through just about anything. So many stops. the only fun thing about it, was this drunk or druged out of her mind lady on the train. She was never able to find her ticket or reciept for it. They were still dealing with her when we got lnto New Mexico. Julie and Stephaine met us at the train station. Was so good to see them. As soon as we got to Julie's I called Elaine and told her to book us airplane tickets to go back home on. Thats what we should have done in the first place, but we wanted to know how it would be to take a train. Well, now we know. Never again!. We had a good time spending time with our girls and grandkids. The weather was great. We had a few thunder storms with welcomed rain. New Mexico is a beautiful place. Stephaine is in the first grade and Brianna just started the tenth grade. Richie just started working for DirecTV. He just loves it there. Doyle and Rich are keeping busy at Sprint. It was good to get back home, but miss them all already. I got some good pictures of all.

Richie April 2010

Photo of Richie funny and cute. Sent by Dorothy.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

On April 10, 2010 Elaine wrote:

Hello Everyone, First off, if I [owe] you an email, I've lost it--my computer went on a twirl 2 days ago and I lost my inbox.

Secondly, Ralph and I decided to take our condo off the market and withdraw from escrow on the condo across the street. We all know that the market is down, down, down. Ok, we had some lookie-loos, but not a single offer/bite. Closing was approaching and we do not want to have two houses at the same time. The thought of totally painting both places was starting to wear on us. Sometimes you look around and, like Dorothy, realize, "There's No Place Like Home."

So.....we are going to be fixing up our place a little: I want to paint the kitchen, and Ralph is going to re-do our computer setups with new modulars.

That's it from Seal Beach=----Ralph, Elaine, Dewey Decimal, and Mikey the Visitor Chihuahua

At the Landeis' Party