Rev. Dale A. Miller

Rev. Dale A. Miller, age 86, of Ripon, WI passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at Anchor Communities in Brandon, WI.

Dale was born in Ripon on November 12, 1938, the son of Gerhold and Lillian (Carlson) Miller. He attended and graduated high school in New Lisbon, WI in 1956. He went on to study at the Berean School of the Bible in Springfield, MS, and became Rev. Dale Miller. He spent his pastoral years in the Beloit and Milwaukee areas with the Assembly of God. Dale also received certification in sign language, and used his services for the deaf and hearing impaired in the church, even having an all sign language choir. He managed The Christian Bookstore in West Allis for many years. He married Charlaine Wheir who passed away in 1995. In his free time, Dale was an avid baseball fan, and enjoyed the Milwaukee Braves back in the day, and of course the Brewers. He loved to bowl and collected a few trophies and medals over the years. He also collected and saved coins of various types.

Dale also had a passion to fish and looked forward to fishing trips with his brother, Glenn, and friends to the mountains of California. When he lived in Milwaukee, he took a bus across the city out to the pier to go fishing, and caught a huge Northern Pike. Later, his sisters, Marilyn and Janet came to visit him, and although they had planned to take him out to eat, he insisted on cooking. He loved to cook and often made various dishes for potluck dinners at different apartment gatherings. This day, for his sisters, he was preparing chicken soup and a salad with hot bacon dressing. They were amazed at his cooking skills. Dale was bragging about this Northern Pike he had caught out on the pier, and they asked what he did with it. He said because he had to take the bus to get back home, he stuck it inside his jacket. He said it kept flopping around but he kept it contained and made it home. His sisters didn’t believe it until they insisted on seeing the jacket, after which it was very believable because it smelled badly of fish. They all had a good laugh.

Dale is survived by his “older sister” (as Dale would always introduce her), Marilyn Ninneman of Ripon, WI; his brother, Rev. Glenn Miller of Laguna Woods, CA; sister, Janet (Dorrance) Moshier of Fort Meade, FL; a cousin, Maureen (Gary) Bestor of Fond du Lac, WI; nieces; nephews; grandnieces and grandnephews; great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews; and a step-son, Keith Bahrke of Saukville, WI. Dale always tried to remember all their birthdays with birthday cards.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Gerhold and Lillian Miller; and his wife, Charlaine (Wheir) Miller.

A graveside service and inurnment will take place on Thursday, April 24, 2025, 10:00 am at Woodlawn Cemetery, Ripon, WI, with Rev. Donald Deike officiating. 

Memorials in Dale’s name may be directed to WELS Mission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MDHH), N16W23377 Stone Ridge Dr., Waukesha, WI 53188 or to the United Pentecostal Church Deaf Evangelism Ministry, 36 Research Park Court, Weldon Spring, MO 63304.