Greetings, all, from the scene of it all where, late last evening we sorrowfully learned from his son Larry and beautiful wife Karen that one of our dear friends and great neighbors, professional golfer Miller Barber, had just moments ago succumbed to a nearly year-long battle with cancer. Miller, pictured above in one of my favorite poses of him—it adorns the Montana Matters website where he was one of our celebrity sponsors--was an annual participant in each of our Extravaganzas, often serving as Master of Ceremonies to our annual Rock Creek Fly Casting Contest, newly-renamed this day as the “Miller Barber Annual Rock Creek Fly Casting Contest”, and frequent dinner guest where he would quietly regale only those who first might ask of him of his world wide golfing travels including those to the Bob Hope Desert Classic and his time together with his famed lodging host, the one and only Frank Sinatra.
When I was graduating from high school in 1964, Miller was winning his first of 11 PGA tournaments. Miller went on to make appearances in a record 1,292 (count em’!) PGA and Champion Tournaments and became the winner of a record 29 Senior PGA tournaments from 1981 through 1989. Known as “Mr. X” for his unusual but effective looped backswing and down stroke, Miller was a true golfing legend as witnessed by his Ryder Cup appearances in 1969 and 1971.
Here in the quietude of Rock Creek and the greater Missoula surrounds, Miller was likewise a legend. His tournament trophies regale themselves in a special (large) room at the Missoula Country Club and, for years, Miller would be the named host at a fundraising golf tournament for his favored local University of Montana—he being a frequent featured guest in the U’s Athletic Director’s booth at the Griz football games—another of Miller’s favorite pastimes. While on Rock Creek, Miller enjoyed the peacefulness of the evenings, sitting outside on his majestic deck surrounded by Ponderosa pines and Aspens silently feeding peanuts to his wild but tamed chipmunks that would gleefully run up his Chinos and climb his ever-present golf shirt to take the bounty from Miller’s calm outstretched hand.
Forever the Southern gentleman, our dear friend Miller, may his soul rest in peace, will be forever remembered in these parts, witness our dedication of Extravaganza 2013 to and in his honor.
God bless you, my friend; Godspeed.
Rock Creek Ron
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