Ivan W. Miller, 96, of Hillsboro, died on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, at Hillsboro Area Hospital.
Visitation will be held Tuesday, Feb. 9, from 12 to 2 p.m. at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Hillsboro. Funeral services will follow, beginning at 2 p.m. at the church with Pastor Mark Girardin officiating. Burial will be held at Oak Grove Cemetery in Hillsboro. Hough Funeral Home in Hillsboro is assisting the family.
Mr. Miller was born Jan. 31, 1925, in Nokomis, to Albert and Rose (Hueschen) Miller. He married Ida Mae Mondhink on March 16, 1954, in Raymond, at the First United Presbyterian Church, and she survives.
He graduated from Nokomis High School with the class of 1942, and was salutatorian of his class. He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. While in the service, he earned his pilot’s license.
In 1960, Mr. Miller started his career in the purebred hog business, being the first hog farm in the state of Illinois to raise Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) disease free hogs. He helped organize the Montgomery County Pork Producers Association in 1963, as well as the Illinois Swine Repopulation Association, in which he held many offices in those organizations.
He belonged to several organizations on the local, county and state level, serving in many leadership roles and earning many awards. Among his lifetime achievements, he was selected as a National Duroc Association Who’s Who honoree in 1980, received the Illinois Purebred Swine Council Award in 2005, and was inducted into the Land of Lincoln Purebred Livestock Association Hall of Fame in 2013.
During his career, Mr. Miller won many awards on the state and national level. He was well known in his business throughout the world, selling his hogs within the U.S. and other countries.
He was a past member of the Hillsboro Moose Club. In his younger years, he loved to fly his Piper Arrow airplane and loved ballroom dancing with his wife. He adored his grandchildren, especially watching them play sports.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Miller is survived by his daughter, Linda (Dan) Bilyeu of Hillsboro; son, James Miller of Nokomis; three grandchildren, Jenna Springer, Brett Bilyeu and Brittany Bilyeu; two great-grandchildren, Brockton and Bryce Springer; and two sisters, Donna Roach and Irma Waddington.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and son, Robert “Bob” Miller.
Memorials may be directed to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Hillsboro or Hillsboro Area Hospital.
Online condolences to the family may be left at www.houghfuneralhome.com.
