Merle C Milam's Obituary
"They don't make them like Merle anymore." Merle C. Milam--independent oilman, pilot, flight instructor, real estate developer, World War II Airforce veteran, husband and father and many other things too varied (and a few slightly too inappropriate) to mention--passed away at 8:45 p.m. on Monday, July 2, 2007 in his hometown of Casey, IL. He was 82. Merle was born April 17, 1925 in Arthur, IL, the son of Cloris Milam and Cecil Cummings Milam. On September 5, 1948 he married the late Rosemary H. Garner in Casey. Believing you were "a short time alive and a long time dead", he lived his life large and with gusto. As a young pilot and crop duster he was known to chase clouds just because he could. He firmly believed one could do anything they wanted and were sufficiently determined to do. One of his favorite accomplishments was causing the State of Illinois to cease issuing speeding tickets via police aircraft. This had been a lucrative process for the state police, but when Merle received his third speeding ticket in a year, he knew he had to fight the system. And he did--winning his case, setting a legal precedent, and forcing the state to discontinue its airborne speed traps. For all his iconoclastic ways, he was a lovely, polite and charming man. One of his daughter's favorite memories is of her father waking her up late at night and taking her out to the oil field to watch a well come in. How many other six-year olds were up in the middle of the night on a drilling rig?! Merle was, in fact, an accomplished oilman who discovered several oilfields and brought in many big wells in the Illinois Basin over the years. One of the wells he discovered in the fifties came in at over 100 barrels per hour, a gusher of the first order. Another cherished memory concerns the time Merle bought a farmer's burro for five dollars and drove home with it in the back of his Lincoln Continental as a gift to his daughter. In fact, his daughter was 34 years old before she discovered he did not in fact hang the moon. Survivors include his daughter, Marsha Milam of Austin, TX; sisters, Mary Henderson of Terre Haute, IN and Nancy Barnhart of Indianapolis, IN; several nieces and nephews and his beloved dog, Muffie Milam. His parents, wife, Rosemary and twin brother, Berle Milam, who was killed in the Marine Corp. in the South Pacific, preceded him in death. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, July 6, 2007 at the Markwell Funeral Home in Casey, IL with Dr. Penelope Barber and Ms. Marsha Milam officiating. Burial will be in the Partlow Cemetery, south of Casey with military graveside rites by the Casey VFW and Hazel Dell American Legion. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to any local Humane Society in honor of his beloved pet Muffie. SERVICES Visitation Friday, July 06, 2007 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Markwell Funeral Home 200 N Central Ave Casey, IL 62420 Service Friday, July 06, 2007 2:00 PM Markwell Funeral Home 200 N Central Ave Casey, IL 62420
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