The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Jack Milam, 96, of Bend, Oregon, passed away July 22, 2019, at his residence. A memorial service is being planned at Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Sisters, time yet to be announced. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Humane Society of Central Oregon or Partners In Care Hospice of Bend.

John Dale Milam, known as Jack, was born in Topeka, Kansas, on October 4, 1922, to Morris Dale Milam and Emily Jean Milam. Jack had one older sister, Jean, and a younger sister and brother, Susie and Mose. He was a boy chorister and acolyte at Grace Cathedral in Topeka, and attended Topeka High School and the University of Kansas in Lawrence; at Lawrence he was also a lay reader at Trinity Episcopal Church. During his college years he joined the U.S. Navy and was trained as an officer at Berea College, Kentucky, and Columbia University, New York, before sailing to the South Pacific as an Ensign and then Lieutenant J.G. on an LST. He served four years in the Navy during World War II.

When Jack returned from the war, he finished his college education at UCLA, where he met Charlotte Kiffe. Jack and Charlotte were married on May 20, 1949. In the fall of 1950 Jack began teaching English at Downey High School in Downey, California, and that same week his first child, Deborah, was born. Four years later, in 1954, he obtained a master’s degree in education from the University of Southern California, and became the father of his second child, Drusilla.

After several years of teaching, Jack moved into administration at the school district office in Downey, first as supervisor of and then as coordinator of secondary instruction.

He remained with the Downey Unified School District for the rest of his career.

He was a popular administrator, sought-after for speaking at various district events.

At the Milam family’s church, St. Mark’s Episcopal in Downey, Jack served as a lay reader, homilist, lay eucharistic minister, and senior warden, among other things.

He also spent much time with Charlotte and the girls on vacations, hikes, and other family activities too numerous to name.

He was always ready to lend a hand to friends and colleagues.

After Jack’s retirement, in 1991 he and Charlotte moved to Black Butte Ranch, where his sister Jean lived. He loved hiking in the forest. Jack and Charlotte also became active at Transfiguration Church in Sisters. They remained at Black Butte until they moved to assisted living in Bend in 2017.

Jack and Charlotte celebrated their 70th anniversary on May 20, 2019. They had a marriage that was a model for their children and grandchildren. When their daughters and grandchildren called to talk to Jack, and said, “I love you,” Jack always responded, “I love you more.” Those children and grandchildren say now, “We love you forever.”

Jack leaves behind his wife, Charlotte; two daughters, Debbie Berkley and Dru Winkle; five grandchildren, Peter Berkley, Mary Shadley, John Helton, Becky Clark, and David Helton; and eight great-grandchildren, Kaylin Ryan, Timothy Ryan, Elliot Berkley, Liam Ryan, Maddie Walsh, Alex Berkley, Beatrix Shadley, and Grover Shadley.