Continued: Wayzata jeweler Darrell Miller 'started from zero'

Chuck Tombarge remembers sitting in a car with his father and with his grandfather, Darrell Miller, waiting for his mother to come out of a store in Florida.

Miller got out of the car, then came back and got in without a word, "wearing one of those really heavy, furry, winter hats with the ear flaps. He didn't even say anything," Tombarge said. But everybody in the car cracked up.

"He had this sense of humor that would really lighten everyone up and catch you by surprise," Tombarge said. "He did some crazy things when you would least expect it."

Miller, 87, of Roseville, was the longtime owner of Miller's Jewelry in Wayzata. He died Aug. 26 after a battle with lung cancer.

Miller was born April 22, 1921, in Chaseley, N.D., and moved with his family to Backus, Minn., when he was young. Raised during the Great Depression, he left school after the 10th grade to help support his family.

He moved to the Twin Cities as a young man. He eloped at 22 and married Marion on the day before he went into the U.S. Army to fight in World War II.

He served in the Army from 1944 to 1946 in the 10th Mountain Division, driving ammunition trucks through the Alps in Italy.

After his return to the United States, he and his wife bought a small grocery in south Minneapolis. But he soon went to school to become a watchmaker, and in 1951 the couple opened Miller's Jewelry in Wayzata.

"He was a man that had nothing and started from zero, and worked very hard and was successful," said Joady Tombarge, his daughter. "He seemed really tough on the outside, but he was so caring."

Chuck Tombarge remembers visiting the store as a child and helping clean the display cases.

Miller eventually sold the store to his son, also named Darrell, who kept it until autumn of 2003 shortly before the younger Miller died of cancer.

The sale of the family store also left a void.

At the store, "customers often felt like members of the family," Chuck Tombarge said, "because it truly was a family-run business."

Miller enjoyed spending time with family, watching the Twins and playing a variety of musical instruments.

Miller is survived by his wife, Marion, daughter Joady Tombarge, four grandchildren and a brother, Gordon Miller.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, with visitation one hour before, at Billman-Hunt Funeral Chapel, 2701 Central Av. NE., Minneapolis.

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