Local entrepreneur Larry W. (L. W.) Miller passed away peacefully at the age of 83, December 13, 2020, in Logan, Utah, surrounded by his loving family.
Larry was born to Weldon Theo Miller and Lottie Gayle Berry on July 16, 1937 in Logan, Utah. He has two sisters, Shirley (Ron, deceased) Hanson and Marilyn Miller. He was married to Marilyn Leatham Miller in 1956 and they have five wonderful children, Laurie (Duane) Meacham, Rex Miller, Nancy (Mark) Clements, Brent (Diana) and Cameron (Valerie) Miller.
He is also survived by his wife of 25 years, Lindi W. Miller and her six children, Anji (Will) Gaskin, Marci (Jes) Hurst, Kami (Jake) Theurer, Krista (Jon) Thompson, T. J. (Machelle) Hart and Shanda (Travis) Baldwin.
Surviving him are a total of 34 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. He was loved and admired by his entire family. He is also survived by many employees, past and present, and many friends who he loved. He was preceded in death by his grandson Nicholas Mark Clements.
As a very young man in Hyrum, Utah, Larry was taught the value of hard, hard work. He was up early morning milking cows and milking them again later in the day. In the summers he was found on a tractor, hard at work on the family farm in Blue Creek. He loved planting and harvest time and never missed an opportunity, including this fall, to be at the farm.
This love for hard work enabled to him establish Miller Transport in Hyrum, Utah in 1965, with his two cousins. He also worked at and retired from Thiokol.
In 1982 he left Miller Transport and established the L. W. Miller Transportation company in Logan, Utah. He started with four employees and 2 trucks and has grown to hundreds of employees and trucks. He eventually established diesel repair facilities in North Salt Lake City and Tremonton, Utah. At one time he several convenience stores throughout Utah and built L. W.’s convenience store next to his transportation center in Logan.
Larry was a visionary who saw opportunities others didn’t see. His other business ventures include Northern Utah Auto Auction, partnering in commercial warehouses, and running a large dry farm. He is a leader who attracts great people, and then gives them opportunities to succeed. He considers his employees family.
Larry loved farming his entire life. He also found time to contribute to our community and state by serving on many boards including the Chamber of Commerce, Utah Trucking Association, Sunshine Terrace, the Utah State University Foundation Board, The Old Main Society, and Logan Regional Hospital. He was also instrumental in the establishing the Cancer Center and Heart Center at Logan IHC.
Over the years, he received many awards for his hard work ethic including the 1994 Small Business Administration Entrepreneurial Success Award. In 2000 he received the Entrepreneur of the year for the entire state of Utah.
He was a life-long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
More important than being a successful businessman was his family. He loved them deeply and was so proud of their accomplishments. He also loved to travel and saw many parts of our beautiful world but was always glad to get back to his beloved Cache Valley where he could get back to work.
A celebration memorial will be held on Saturday, December 19, 2020 from 10:00am – 12:30pm at the L. W. Transportation Center, 1050 West 200 North in Logan, Utah.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution to the Cache Valley for Hope Cancer Foundation.