Frederick Clyde Miller

Frederick Clyde Miller was born on March 14, 1950, to Clyde Howard Miller Jr. and Esther Luella Carlson Miller in Montrose, Colorado.

From the very beginning, Fred’s life was tied to both his hometown and the woman with whom he would eventually share it.

Fred was born at St. Luke’s Hospital the day before the new Montrose Memorial Hospital opened. He was among the patients moved into the brand-new hospital on opening day, giving him the special distinction of being the first baby at Montrose Memorial Hospital.

And waiting in that same nursery was the beginning of an even better story.

Yonna Elaine Dicamillo, the girl who would one day become Fred’s wife, was born while Fred was still in the hospital. The two shared the hospital nursery before Fred was discharged. Their lives had quite literally crossed from birth.

Fred was one of three children born to Clyde and Esther and grew up alongside his sisters, Muriel Lynn Sloan and Marsha Ruth Hansen.

It seems Fred’s love of the land was established almost as early as everything else. Agriculture wasn’t simply what Fred did for a living, it was woven into who he was.

He joined 4-H in 1959 at just nine years old, getting his start raising pigs. What began with a young boy and his pigs would grow into a lifelong commitment to agriculture and, perhaps even more importantly, to help generations of young people find their own place in it.

Fred quickly distinguished himself in 4-H. He served as Vice President and Treasurer, was named the State Grain Marketing Winner in 1967, and became the Colorado State Tractor Driving Winner in 1968. He went on to compete nationally that year, placing second in the National Tractor Driving Contest.

Fred was also an active member of Montrose FFA from 1964 to 1968, serving as Vice President and Chaplain and earning his State Farmer Degree in 1968.

While still in high school, Fred bought his first tractor—a John Deere 4020. It was much more than the first tractor. It marked the beginning of a lifetime spent farming, raising livestock, building businesses, solving problems, and caring for the land.

And while Fred was building his future in agriculture, he and Yonna were beginning to build their future together.

Fred and Yonna began dating as sophomores at Montrose High School. They graduated together in 1968, attended Fort Lewis College and later Colorado State University, and were married on May 16, 1970.

Fred helped pay for his way through college in part with the five sows he owned, returning home during the summers to continue working on the farm. From 1970 to 1972, he attended Colorado State University, where he graduated with honors with a teaching degree in vocational agriculture. He also received the Ag Senior Award and the Monroe Scholarship, graduating in 1972.

Although Fred earned a degree that prepared him to teach agriculture in a classroom, much of his teaching throughout life would happen somewhere else—in barns and fields, at county fairs and show rings, around kitchen tables and meeting rooms, and beside generations of young people involved in 4-H and FFA.

Life in Agriculture

Farming was never simply Fred’s occupation. It was the life he chose and built.

From 1970 to 1996, Fred owned and operated a 405-acre diversified farm. He raised corn, barley, pinto beans, onions, broccoli, alfalfa, and sweet corn, with the farm producing approximately 50 percent of the feed needed for his hog operation. He irrigated row crops using open ditches, siphon tubes, gated pipe, and surge irrigation.

During those same years, Fred operated a 200-sow, farrow-to-finish hog operation, raising hogs from birth through market. His operation also developed into a specialty meat business producing products including nitrite-free hams, bacon, and pork sausages, as well as other preservative-free specialty products.

In 1996, Fred established Shavano Valley Crop & Pork Producers, which he operated through 2001. The operation included a hog-production facility with feeder pigs and a meat business selling pork primals and specialty products to grocery stores, including Alfalfa’s, as well as food-service establishments.

But Fred wasn’t finished trying new things.

In 2005, he established the Shavano Valley Trout Farm. Fred designed and built a recirculating fish-rearing facility to raise quality rainbow trout, which were marketed for winter stocking of urban ponds and lakes throughout Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

The trout farm was another reflection of Fred’s ingenuity and willingness to take an idea and figure out how to make it work. Over the course of his life, he grew crops, raised hogs, produced specialty meats, raised rainbow trout, designed facilities, marketed agricultural products, and continually adapted to changes in agriculture.

Fred understood agriculture from the ground up. And he never stopped learning.

A Lifetime of Service

As much as Fred accomplished through his own agricultural operations, some of his greatest contributions came through the time, knowledge, and leadership he gave to others.

His early years in 4-H eventually came full circle when he became a longtime 4-H leader and advisor. In 1996, the Montrose 4-H Council presented Fred with the Virgil Corman Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to 4-H and FFA Members of Montrose County. In 1998, he was named Leader/Advisor of the Year.

Fred’s dedication to young people could also be seen at the Montrose County Fair. He served on the Montrose County Fair Board from 1982 to 1992, including service as secretary, and spent 20 years, from 1980 to 2000, as Montrose County Swine Superintendent.

He also served on the Montrose FFA Scholarship Advisory Committee and Agricultural Promotion Committee, continuing his commitment to creating opportunities for young people in agriculture.

Throughout the years, Fred was actively involved with the Farm Bureau, one of the many ways he gave his time and experience to the agricultural community.

He was a member of the Western Colorado Pork Producers for 26 years, serving as both a board member and president.

He served on the Colorado Pork Producers Council from 1975 to 2003, including terms as Vice President from 1978 to 1980 and President from 1980 to 1982. In recognition of his contributions to the pork industry, Fred received the Colorado Pork All American Award in 1982.

From 1982 to 1985, Fred served as a Director of the National Pork Producers Council, taking his involvement in agriculture from the local and state levels to the national level.

He was also a member of the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Program, Class of 1987–1988.

Fred served for 12 years as Secretary of the Montrose Potato Growers Board of Directors, served on the Colorado State University Advisory Council from 1991 to 1992, and participated in the Local Vegetable Growers Committee from 1992 to 1996.

Conservation and Community

Fred believed deeply in caring for the land that had provided so much for his family and community.

He served on the Shavano Soil Conservation District Board from 1973 to 2004 and served as its President from 1984 to 2004. Fred’s commitment to conservation was also part of a remarkable three-generation family legacy. His grandfather, Fred Carlson, joined other local landowners in establishing the Shavano Soil Conservation District in 1941. Fred’s parents, Clyde and Esther Miller, later donated land for dams and provided easements needed for conservation and flood-control projects.

Fred carried that legacy forward through years of active service with the district. His involvement went far beyond attending meetings. He helped oversee the routing, scheduling, and maintenance of district equipment, including the district’s D7 Cat, John Deere paddle-wheel scraper, and other equipment used throughout the area. He also helped supervise the operation, maintenance, and inspections of the district’s flood-control projects, including the Shavano and Rotacap Dams.

Across three generations, the Carlson-Miller family helped build, support, and care for conservation projects that protected the land and served their community, a legacy especially fitting for Fred, whose life was so deeply rooted in agriculture and stewardship of the land.

His dedication to conservation earned Fred the Colorado State Soil Conservation Supervisor of the Year Award in 1999, followed by regional recognition and a third-place honor at the national level.

Fred also served on the ASCS County Committee from 1978 to 1987, including service as president.

His commitment to community extended well beyond agriculture. Fred spent more than 29 years with the Montrose County Sheriff’s Posse, holding every office within the organization and later becoming a Life Member.

From 2001 to 2014, he was involved with the Goldwing Motorcycle Association, adding another collection of friendships, miles, and undoubtedly a few more stories to his life.

Beginning in 2010, Fred became involved with the Soil Health Workgroup, continuing his interest in soil health, conservation, and responsible stewardship of agricultural land.

Even after decades of farming and leadership, Fred remained interested in what agriculture could become next.

The offices he held, committees he served on, businesses he built, and awards he received are remarkable.

But they only tell part of Fred’s story. The young people he encouraged, taught, teased, challenged, and believed in telling a much bigger story about the legacy he left behind. His influence can be found in generations of 4-H and FFA members, at county fairs and in show rings, in barns and fields, and throughout the agricultural community he loved so much.

Fred knew how to work. He also knew how to teach others to work. And he believed in giving people the opportunity to discover just how much they were capable of doing.

A Lifetime Together

As important as agriculture was to Fred, family was at the center of his heart.

Fred and Yonna’s story is one few couples could ever tell.

Two babies who once shared a hospital nursery became high school sweethearts. They went to college together, married, graduated, built a farm, raised a family, weathered the good years and the difficult ones, and grew older together.

This past May, Fred and Yonna celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary.

Fifty-six years of marriage is remarkable on its own, but it tells only part of their story.

Fred and Yonna had been part of each other’s story since the very beginning.

Together, they built a life rooted in family, agriculture, community, hard work, and the land they loved.

Fred was the proud father of three children: Cheri Krauss and her husband, Jere; Mathew Miller and his wife, Christina; and Tiffani Fritz and her husband, Brad.

One of his greatest titles, however, was simply Grandpa.

Fred was incredibly proud of his grandchildren: Kenna Mundy, Colten Krauss, Mason Fritz, Taylar Fritz, and Chazz Miller.

Each had their own relationship with Grandpa—their own inside jokes, adventures, conversations, lessons, and stories. He followed their lives with enormous pride. He celebrated their accomplishments, worried about them, offered advice whether they asked for it or not, and loved them fiercely.

Fred passed away September 27th, 2026 surrounded by the love of a family who will forever feel the impact of the life he lived. He was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Esther Miller.

It is difficult to capture an entire life in an obituary, especially a life that touched so many people.

Fred was a husband, dad, grandpa, brother, farmer, businessman, mentor, teacher, conservationist, leader, neighbor, and friend.

But Fred was also something else. He was someone who left people with stories. And there are a lot of Fred stories. Some are heartfelt. Some are funny. Some may have gotten a little better with every retelling. And there are probably a few that shouldn’t make it into an obituary at all. Those stories are part of Fred’s legacy, too.

His family will remember the awards and accomplishments, but perhaps even more importantly, they will remember the ordinary things—the conversations, the advice, the jokes, the things he always said, the stories they had heard a hundred times, and all those little pieces of Fred that seemed ordinary at the time but now mean everything.

His legacy lives in the fields he farmed and the soil he cared for. It lives in the agricultural organizations he helped lead and the businesses he built. It lives in the 4-H and FFA members he encouraged, the farmers and ranchers he worked beside, and the community to which he gave so much of himself.

It lives in the stories that will continue to be told. And most of all, it lives in the family he loved. There will never be another Fred. And his family intends to make sure his stories are told for generations to come.

❤️ We’ve also started a memorial site for Dad where we’re gathering photos, stories, and memories. It’s still a work in progress, and we’ll continue adding to it. If you knew Fred, we’d love for you to visit and share a memory with our family. Every story shared gives us another piece of Dad to hold onto and pass down. ❤️

Memorial Contributions

In honor of Fred, contributions may be made to the Devon Clark Scholarship through Home Loan State Bank, in care of Tish Saunders. Please note “FFA Scholarship” in the memo line.

View the Internet Obituary and sign the online guest registry at: www.taylorfuneralservice.com

A Celebration of Life for Frederick Clyde Miller

Saturday, October 10

1:00–5:00 PM

60075 Oak Grove Road

Montrose, CO 81403

Please join us as we come together to celebrate Fred and a life that meant so much to so many.

Rather than simply saying goodbye, we want this day to feel like him—filled with his favorite things, good food, stories, laughter, family, friends, and the memories that made Fred who he was.

Come as you are. Stay awhile. Share a story.

Bring your favorite memory of Fred—something he said, something he did, a story that still makes you laugh, or simply a moment you’ll never forget. We hope to spend the afternoon sharing those memories and celebrating the many ways he touched our lives.

We would also love for you to bring a written memory, story, or photo of Fred for our family to keep. These memories will be treasured by our family and will help us preserve his stories for his children, grandchildren, and the generations to come.

Following the celebration, Fred’s grandchildren will lead a procession past his home in Shavano Valley—one more trip past a place that held so much of his life and so many of our family’s memories.

We would be honored to have you join us as we celebrate a man who was deeply loved and will be deeply missed.

Come celebrate Fred with us. ❤️