CASPER, Wyo. — On June 22, Pat Miller left our life and embraced God at Casper Hospital, with his brother, Jim and wife, Pam, caring for him. He was a resident of Holladay, Utah, for the past 39 years, where he lived a life full of gratitude and service bringing more meaning, purpose, love, laughter, wonder and adventure to others and to him. In retrospect, he knew that he had made a difference in the lives of others and he knew that he had succeeded in getting something wonderful back, a life well created around skiing and more importantly around the people he loved.

A native of Mexico and a four-year four-sport high school athlete, Pat was the National Junior Cross-Country ski champion in 1965. As a student at Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colo., he was named “All-American in Nordic Combined” in 1970 and in 2001 was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He was a member of the U.S. National Nordic Combined Team from 1968 to 1974. He was chosen as an alternate to the 1968 Olympic Winter Games in Grenoble.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Fort Lewis. He also earned his master’s degree in commercial recreation from the University of Utah in 1976.

In the annals of ski coaching, Pat Miller’s accomplishments would fill volumes. The primary chapters would tell of his remarkable accomplishments while coaching the University of Utah Ski Team from 1974 to 2000.

During his tenure, Utah teams skied to eight combined National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships, one men’s NCAA National Championship and one Women’s Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) National Championship.

Under his tutelage, 251 Utah skiers achieved All-American status, 46 were individual national collegiate champions and 10 were named members of U.S. Olympic teams. The John Wooden of skiing, Pat was clearly a genius at identifying and building talent and hitting a performance target no one else could even see.

Pat’s many accolades included the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Coach of the Year and the University of Utah Coach of the Year in 1993. He has been recognized as the most successful coach in the history of college skiing and in any sports program in Utah. He was inducted into the Fort Lewis College Athletic Hall of Fame and the Maine Ski Hall of Fame alongside his brother, Jim. He was also inducted into the Intermountain Sports Hall of Fame.

Pat has been an instrumental 20-year member and exhibit chair of the University of Utah Marriot Library Ski Archives with displays of more than 10,000 images of skiing throughout the Intermountain area. He received the Sue Reamer Memorial Award in 2006 for volunteer work above and beyond the call of duty for the sport. During the 2002 Olympics he was in charge of the exhibits for the Ski Archives and was also a starter for all the Nordic events including the Paralympics. He has also been a member of the Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors.

Pat loved his job working for the Deer Valley Ski Resort in a variety of capacities for the past 10 years. He considered his Deer Valley co-workers as family. Pat was also a gourmet cook and belonged to a gourmet club in Salt Lake City for many years. He received his advanced master gardener certification in 2005 and volunteered by planting his beloved flowers throughout the parks of Salt Lake City.

Pat leaves behind a legacy of enduring kindness and love. His love was never stronger than the bond he shared with his older brother, Jim.

Surviving Pat is his immediate family, Jim Miller and Pam Mills of Casper, Wyo.; Sandy Miller of Rangeley; and Leslie and Tom Morrill of Auburn; he was greatly loved by his nephews and nieces and their children; he leaves behind countless friends who he considered as family and whom he loved.

His parents, Al and Ally Miller predeceased him.