Evans Funeral Home
"Compassionate Funeral Service"
Carrington and New Rockford, North Dakota
701.652.3003 or 701.947.2911
Secondary Number ~ 701.650.9937
Wesley “Wes” Miller
Wesley “Wes” Olaf Miller, 82, passed away on April 28, 2025, doing what he loved—planting trees.
Born on June 27, 1942, Wes lived a full and meaningful life defined by his passion for hard work and love for conservation of the land. He married the love of his life, Patricia Engberg, on June 30, 1963. Their partnership spanned more than five decades until Patricia’s passing in 2016.
Wes had a lifelong passion for both animals and nature. Over the years, he raised pheasants, turkeys, and peacocks, gradually expanding his interests to include exotic animals such as ostriches, emus, rheas, wallabies, and even a zebra. His enthusiasm and dedication to raising these unique animals and birds brought joy and fascination to those who visited his farm.
Wes was a true friend of the land. His love for nature extended beyond the animals he raised to the trees and soil themselves. His greatest passion was for trees—he firmly believed there was no such thing as too many. Over the years, he planted tens of thousands on both his home property and his childhood homestead, affectionately known by family and friends as “The Farm.” He also shared this passion through selling Christmas trees to local families for many years, and through his tree-moving business, which he operated for more than 40 years. In doing so, he helped others create their own meaningful ties to the land, leaving landscapes more beautiful and lives more connected.
Wes will be remembered not only for his devotion to nature and the land, but also for his incredible desire to work hard. He worked from sunup to sundown his entire life, taking pride in every task, no matter how big or small. When he wasn’t working, he could be found ice fishing, deer hunting with his family, and tinkering in his shop. He was far from a perfectionist when it came to his shop projects—his goal was always functionality. This was evident in the many unconventional, yet brilliant contraptions and “work-arounds” that he came up with over the years.
He is deeply missed and lovingly remembered by all who had the privilege of knowing him.
Wes is survived by his sons, Mike of Carrington, ND, and Tim (Alyssa) of Valley City, ND, as well as six grandchildren: Kahlor, Casey, Tanner, Tyler, Taylor, and Ethan. He is also survived by siblings, Gladys Kautzman of West Fargo; James Miller of Bismarck; Dianne Marsh of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin; and Joyce Miller of Richfield, Minnesota, and Bournemouth, England. He is also survived by his very special friends, Harold Erickson, Joni Parks, Sam Partlow, and Brad Skytland.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia; daughter, Michelle; his siblings, Merlin Miller, Alice Campbell, Betty Wahl, Wayne Miller, and Shirley Kivley.
Wes’ Visitation will be on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, from 12:00PM-1:00PM followed by a Funeral Service at 1:00PM all at Evans Funeral Home, Carrington.
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I had the upmost respect for Wes, whom I have known for a long time. I thank God that I had the opportunity a few days ago to find him working at one of his conservation projects just to stop and offer my condolences for the death of his daughter Michelle. We talked for close to an hour discussing just about everything. Although we didn’t solve any of the worlds problems, we did get to express our thoughts and enjoy for that short of time, our friendship. Wes will be missed by many people as he was a well known and respected person as well as a great steward of the land. RIP Wes. My condolences to Mike and Tim and the rest of the family.
I’m so very sorry, Mike and Tim.
So soon after Michelle. You are in my prayers. I have good memories of Wes at Firestone and at the farm showing me his ostrich. Love, Jerilyn
RIP Wes
I’m so very sorry, Mike and Tim.
So soon after Michelle. You are in my prayers. I have good memories of Wes at Firestone and at the farm showing me his ostrich. Love, Jerilyn
I’m so sorry for the loss of Wes he was a good man always willing to talk with anyone. I remember helping him sod a few yards back long ago and he always made it right. Sorry for your loss Mike , Tim and family.
We are so deeply saddened by the loss of not only Michelle, but now also Wes. John and I have known Wes for many, many years and have always been very fond of his company. Wes was such a friendly, kind man who never new a stranger. I can imagine that the stories people could share of their time spent with him could go on forever. He will truly be missed by the community and ourselves. May the memories that you have with him and of him carry you through the hard days. Sending you our deepest sympathies.
I know Wes Miller. Wes was a cousin of Howard Miller. I can remember, about of the many things he had on his house area, on 200 highway. He went between a rock & a hard place. Wes is in paradise with JESUS, forever.
I am so sorry Mike and Tim, I have many great memories of Wes he was a great man. I always looked forward to running into him, you just knew you in for some good conversation when you did. He will be missed.
Mikey and family, my deepest heart felt condolences. You are in my thoughts
Bob and I were so sad to hear about Wes’ passing. I have known him all my life. It has been just in the past few years that we got to see him more. We’d always go out to check out the farmstead that I grew up on.
Wes bought that a few years ago.
He was always out there working on something. I love that he had planted trees and enjoy being there. Wes always welcomed us and we reminisced about living only about a mile from where the Miller family grew up.
His love for animals, trees, and the land. We will miss our visits. Wes was, as many have said, a good man.
Our sincere sympathy to all his family.
Sandi and Bob Leopoldt
My thoughts and prayers to his sons, Mike and Tim. There will never be another Wes Miller. He was a fantastic man, and I was fortunate that I had the opportunity to meet him and have the opportunity to have Wes in my life. Heaven has gained another kind soul.
I just talked to Wes on Saturday about trees we were gonna do. His phone calls were always entertaining. We could talk trees for hours. Working with Wes in the tree industry was a blessing. His love of trees was always inspiring. I will forever be grateful for the times we had.
Kevin Reilly
Trees On The Move Inc
Frank knew Wes before I ever met him when we got married. He was well known as a steward of the land and trees. One year when Frank took our 3 little girls there to buy a Christmas tree Wes gave our youngest daughter, Roberta a pink flocked Christmas tree she was so proud of! We put lights on it and set it in a snow bank outside our picture window. Another year on Christmas Eve, Frank and the 3 girls drove to town and hit blizzard conditions on their way home and were among several other stranded travelers to spend Christmas Eve night at Wes and Patti’s home. Frank and Wes grew up in the same neighborhood. Back in those days all the neighbors were friends. Celebrate a life well lived and smile with love and pride at all your memories.
My brother Wes had a great love of nature and worked hard to work with it and even improve on it. I remember when he was just a teenager; he was driving back to the farm from Carrington when one of those North Dakota blizzards blew in, when you cannot even see a few feet ahead of you, nor from the house to the barn. His car hit the ditch somewhere past the highway, and he set off on foot cross-country for home. Hours later, he came through the door, cold, but otherwise OKAY. After that, we thought he could do anything and even survive anything. He was a blessing for all of his work with trees and the land, which he loved. Last summer, he gave me a tour of the planting he was doing on his newly purchased Landon property. Had he lived, it would have been even more of a showcase of Nature. I hope everyone will go and take a look; it’s just one of his legacies.
Wes and I had a lifelong relationship filled with a great many happy times, and I am having great difficulty absorbing that it is really over.
Some of my earliest memories include the fun we had as kids, crafting toys by cutting and hammering together whatever scraps of wood and metal we could find around the farm. From that early start Wes went on to a lifetime of creating and inventing whatever tools and fixes he needed to get the job done, and will always be admired for those skills.
Other memories from that time include our many evenings spent fishing for bullheads in the James River near our home. One time Wes hooked a 30-36 inch Northern, biggest fish we’d ever seen! Landing such a fighter on a 12 foot cane pole (without a net) was chancey at best – he wanted me to hold the pole while he jumped into the water to grab it! Older brother Wayne restored order, and Wes did land the fish without diving in!
Thanks to Wayne, we enjoyed a great many other adventures as well. He was an invalid nearly all of his short life, but for several years in the fall he drove us and our cousins around the countryside, hunting ducks and grouse and the occasional pheasant. Wes was the youngest of the group, but over time became the most accurate shot, something the rest of us admired.
In later years we enjoyed many hunts for ducks, geese, and sandhill cranes, too numerous to detail, but always great fun.
In recent times, I occasionally stayed overnight with Wes at his farm. Invariably, when I got up in the morning, I would find him sitting at the window, eating his breakfast of crackers and peanut butter and watching some form of wildlife out in his front yard – deer, pheasants, coyotes, whatever. Sometimes the only wildlife in sight was a few birds at his birdfeeder – That didn’t matter, he enjoyed seeing every bird and usually told me about interesting features of each. I always marveled at his fulfillment in these simple pleasures.
These are my favorite memories of Wes – Only a tiny part of the complex person that he was, and only a tiny bit of my total memory of him.
He left this world doing what he loved best of all, I do find a bit of consolation in that.
May he rest in peace.
Wes and Patti were the best of neighbors for the 9 years we lived next to them. He was always there for advice and aid. His knowledge of all things rural and Carrington ran deep. Henry fed our cats fish guts and denied they ever stepped on his property. He loved them too. His life was a quiet one and his stewardship of land and animals ran deep. May he rest in peace.
Mike & Tim
Wes moved tress for me, sprayed trees I was concerned about, and gave me advice on planting trees far enough apart from each other to allow for great growth. He also expressed displeasure when I asked him to move an apple tree that looked dead into a hole from moving an evergreen tree. Much to both of our surprise that tree produced the largest green apples great for pie for years. He was a great guy to chat with about anything.
Thank you, everyone, friend or family, for the kind words, stories and condolences. Dad (Wes) touched a lot of lives…. mostly for the better. I love that old man, dearly. No way could I even hope to completely fill his shoes, but I’ll stuff some tissues up in the toes, and do what I can.