OBITUARY: Robert “Bob” Peake Miller

Robert “Bob” Peake Miller passed away September 8, 2026 while hospitalized in Saint George, Utah. Bob was born on November 28, 1938 (along with his twin brother Ronald “Einnor” Chess Miller) in Brigham City, Utah. His early childhood years were spent carefree on a duck refuge in Utah with his family. Later his family relocated to old Ruth Nevada where Bob attended Ruth grade school. The family was relocated, along with many residents and homes, from old Ruth to new Ruth when the mine started encroaching on the surrounding homes.

Bob met the love of his life, Nancy Mayo, in grade school. She and her family lived down the street and she became his forever companion in life from then on. He was always teased about robbing the cradle even though she was only 1 year younger than him. They were inseparable.
Bob was a very talented athlete in all sports. He attended White Pine High School in Ely, Nevada and excelled in all sports including baseball, football, basketball and track. Over the years he received many awards and lettered in all his athletic endeavors. Later in life, he coached, umpired, and refereed many sports and games at all levels across the state of Nevada. Sometimes traveling to games in the perils of winter on mountain highways to other Nevada towns so they could hold their highly anticipated competitions.

After high school graduation, Bob attended the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley for 1.5 years. He enjoyed sports and his studies. He returned home to Ruth to care for his elderly parents and went to work for Kennecott Copper Corporation in McGill in the accounting offices. He and Nancy were married in 1960 and settled in Ely. They started a family and had two children, Cynthia and Robert. Bob was a member of the Ely Masons and the St Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church. He also became an active member of the Ely Volunteer Fire Department after his family’s home caught fire and was saved from total destruction by those very volunteers. Bob enjoyed many years of hunting, fishing, and fooling around in the beautiful mountains of Northern Nevada.

Bob was a very talented artist who enjoyed many hours of painting and drawing with multiple forms of media. He was always on the lookout for landscape and animal pictures that he could turn into works of art. Many of Bob’s loved ones were gifted with the fruits of his labor over the years. His paintings hang in many of their homes.

In their early twenties, Bob and Einnor learned they had extended family in Utah that they had not known about prior. Over the years, they were able to meet and enjoy time with their birth mother and many half brothers and sisters along with their families.
In 1978, when Kennecott shut down in the Ely area, Bob chose to be transferred to Silver City, New Mexico. He and his family relocated to New Mexico and he ultimately retired with over 38 years as an accountant from Kennecott/Phillips Dodge in 1999. During his time in New Mexico, he enjoyed camping and fishing trips and quail hunting with his family and friends. After retirement, he and Nancy moved back to Ely to settle into their retirement years and live closer to their extended families in Nevada. But not before he saw his family grow in the New Mexico sun and immensely enjoyed four grandchildren as a result. He was an awesome husband, father, father-in-law, grandpa, uncle, brother, cousin and friend. Bob will be forever missed by the many people who loved him and who had many, many good times enjoying life and love with him over the years.

Bob is survived by his wife, Nancy Mayo Miller of Ely, NV; daughter, Cynthia(Jay) Huber of Albuquerque, NM; son, Robert Miller of Silver City, NM; former daughter-in-law Betsy Miller of Silver City, NM; granddaughters: Launi (Alex) Miller of Marble Falls, TX, and Jessica (Dan) Reyes of Silver City, NM; grandsons: Tanner Jay Huber and Aaron Jay Huber both of Albuquerque, NM; brother and sister-in-law David (Edith) Tilford of Ely, NV; sister-in-law Linda Miller of Ely, NV; six great grandchildren in Texas and New Mexico; multiple nieces and nephews mainly in Nevada; and multiple half brothers and sisters in Utah and Colorado.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Marcus and Florence Miller; biological mother Verla Able; twin brother Ronald Miller; in-laws Hugh and Ethel Mayo; and multiple half siblings.

A celebration of Bob’s life will be held at a later date. He will be laid to rest in the Eldridge Family Black Horse Cemetery in Nevada.