The Maceys grocery store in Provo had to make extra room to accommodate friends and family of Karl Miller who joined him and the community to celebrate 104.5 years of his life on Saturday. Appropriately enough, the store had to move their motorized shopping carts to make room for the 104 year-young Miller who is a regular at the store.

Miller's ties with the Provo community and BYU date back to before he graduated from Brigham Young High School in 1923. He was employed by BYU in 1914 to clean the chalk erasers of all four buildings on lower campus for 50 cents an hour. Over the years to come, Miller received a bachelor's degree from BYU and worked over 50 years in the university's physical facilities department where he wrote a 365 page book entitled The History of Buildings and Grounds, Brigham Young University. The book however, may not be Miller's greatest contribution.

Miller employed BYU students to help him manage the grounds at BYU. His oldest son, Reed, said one of these employees was once struggling financially. Miller saw the young student unpacking his locker. He soon learned the student could no longer afford tuition and planned on dropping out of school.

"No you're not. If you're not afraid of hard work, put those clothes back in that locker and come with me," Miller said.

He helped the student find a job that provided more hours and the student was able to stay in school and eventually earn a doctorate degree. He would later return to BYU and hold an administrative position.

Whenever and wherever the family travels there always seems to be someone who was employed by Miller when putting themselves through school.

Miller was too young for military service during the first World War and too old to be drafted in the second. When he did not receive a call to serve a full-time mission, he was forced to define his life around something that he both loved and allowed him to make somebody's life easier.

"Dad felt his mission was to get training before to BYU so he could take care of the grounds and provide work for students to get an education," said Miller's youngest son Glen.

The students under Miller's tutelage were not the only blessed by his life. The three sons and two nieces he raised were also molded by his guidance.

When Glen was young, Miller cared for a friend's house while the friend was vacationing. One day, Miller took his son with him to collect the mail and morning paper. While his dad worked, the young Glen wandered into the kitchen and found a young boys dream come true, a full cookie jar. With eager anticipation and excitement, he proudly announced his finding to his father.

"We're here to make sure the cookie jar is still full when the family gets back," Miller said.

Glen said it is a lesson he has never forgotten.

The apple of Miller's love has not fallen far from the tree. His oldest son's bumper sticker reads, "My money and my daughter go to BYU."

The family is currently preparing a history of Miller's life.

"We can't finish the thing," Glen said. "He keeps making it."

Copyright Brigham Young University 18 Apr 2008