Remembering a Great Man, My Perspective
by Bryan Emery
I remember, as a 10 year old boy, my first orchid society meeting. There were so many kind people waiting to welcome new guests. One man stood out in that crowd, Mike Miller. Mike was the go to person in the society. Having been a founding member of the CVIOS he saw it as his duty to help the society in any way it needed. This led to 30 years as the newsletter editor, numerous executive positions, and frequent trips to set up displays at orchid shows. I will always remember arriving at an orchid show to see Mike ever so excited. Someone in the society would have sent an amazing or unusual plant, and Mike would have come up with an ingenious way to showcase it. In the last number of years he started doing the society displays routinely. I will always cherish how he would try to do something different or even shocking for the displays. Always with a happy smirk on his face when someone would notice something special in his designs.
After his retirement, Mike started into Alpine plants. As he has always had a love for small and interesting plants this was a natural extension to his orchid growing. I remember attending an alpine plant study weekend with Mike. We both let that conference with a mile long wish list of plants. I will never forget the joy in his voice during the alpine show. Orchids being an expensive plant set his expectations high. He was almost giddy when the alpine plants were "only 4 to 12 dollars! You can buy boxes and boxes of them"
Mike always had interesting stories to share. He was the son of the fishmonger on Fort St in Victoria, Doug Miller. Doug was also a plantsman and orchid grower. Mike spent time in his youth on his grandfather Lambrick's dairy farm. Now the site of Lambrick park in Gordon Head. Working and going to school on the prairies briefly. He was also the taxidermist for the Royal BC museum at one point. Mike then settled into the role of teacher. He was a natural born educator, unable to resist sharing knowledge. I may have heard a few of the stories of his life more than once, but after a glass of wine they were always as entertaining as the first time. I will never forget the one about the neighbor's collie that would chase him as he rode his bike from Grandfather Lambrick's.
Mike met the love of his life, Stella. They built a life together. They have 2 sons (and daughters in law whom they adore) I don't think I ever saw Mike so excited as when he talked about his family and especially his grandchildren.
Trying to sum up the life of an amazing man in a few short paragraphs is impossible. All I can do is hold close the memories of orchid meetings, road trips, orchid shows, and friendly gatherings. I will forever miss our late evenings after a day at the orchid show, drinking wine with friends and discussing any topic that may arise. Thank you for all you shared with me Miller.
You were a true friend to me.
Bryan Emery
From Sheila Wilson, CVIOS President
We have lost a big part of CVIOS with Mike's passing. His knowledge base about orchids seemed to be limitless. I could always ask him 'what do I do about this problem?' and he'd have an answer. His good humour and easy going style was infectious, I always enjoyed chatting with him. It's just too bad that he didn't live to be part of our 50th anniversary in 2023 and be able to celebrate a society that he helped to create and nourished over the years.
I hope that you're resting in the orchid garden of your dreams Mike!
Photos courtesy of Julia T.
