Dale Bright Miles

This is the story of my Daddy.

Born a poor farmer's son in Cache Valley Utah, he was drafted two weeks after high school graduation in 1945, and used GI Bill to pull himself up by the bootstraps and met a brilliant, beautiful young woman at BYU, and they married December 19, 1952, and he made her happy for the rest of her life!

Dale Bright Miles was born in Lewiston, Utah on January 9, 1927 in the middle of a snow storm to John Miles and Sarah Bright Miles. He was the fifth of seven children. When Dale was 10 years old, April of 1939, his family moved near White Bluffs, Washington to farm during the depression.

Dale served in the Army of Occupation Medical Corp in Germany following World War II, and served a mission in New England, half the time without purse or scrip. Dale Bright and Neola Peterson Miles were married on 19 December 1952 in the St. George Temple. Dale had a well-trained tenor singing voice that sounded identical to Mario Lanza (An outstanding popular tenor at the time). Dale sang his hit song "For You Alone" to Neola at their wedding reception. They lived in Ogden the next five months so Neola could complete her first year of teaching home economics at South Ogden Junior High.

Dale transferred to Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo, California where he studied agriculture and later worked for the Department of Agriculture. The family moved considerably. Their daughter Lanell was born while at Cal Poly, then Blake and Clark were born in Oakland, California, and Kevin was born while Dale was teaching Agriculture at San Fernando High School. Dale served as Branch President in Calexico, California. He served in High Councils in El Centro, California and Orem, Utah. His major responsibility in El Centro was helping set up a Family History Library, and in Orem he also served in the Family History Library. They then moved to Lindon, Utah which will be mentioned later. He was the last surviving sibling, and was preceded in death by Sarah, Luella, Laura, Rees, Jay Vale, and Adaline Miles. His death allowed him to join his wife of 67 years, Neola, who passed away May 20, 2020.

In 1967 the family had a wonderful four-month adventure when Dale was sent to New York for training. They traveled and lived in a 19-foot trailer. Neola organized trips to Church and other historical sites and parks as they drove to and from, and around their New Jersey trailer park.

Dale was assigned to work in U. S. Customs at Calexico, California on the U.S. side of the Mexican border, across from Mexicali. While there, in the Imperial Valley, Neola taught elementary school for twenty years. Their four children all graduated from high school and served missions from there. Much of that time they attended Church in a bilingual branch in Calexico.

When Dale and Neola retired, they served a full-time mission in the city of Morelia, Mexico, afterwards taking a trip to Europe where they visited ancestral areas in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. While still in California, Dale was instrumental in setting up a Stake Family History Center. They moved to Orem in in 1988 where they were consultants in the Family History Center. They moved to Lindon, Utah in 1996, serving as directors of the Stake Family History Center. In November 2016 they moved to Cove Point Retirement Community in Provo, where Neola passed away peacefully on May 20, 2020, and Dale passed away peacefully on December 5, 2020, causes incident to age, and dementia, being aged 93 years.

Neola and Dale have been avid family history researchers, writers, and record keepers. Together they published several books, and shared many stories with their posterity and extended family. Dale was a hard worker, and loving husband and father. His goal the last 25 years of his life was to make life comfortable and happy for his wife Neola.

Dale is survived by, his children Lanell (Kerry) Reeder, Blake (Alma) Miles, Clark Miles, and Kevin (Brenda) Miles, 14 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren. We wish to thank the loving and capable staff at Cove Point Retirement, and Bristol Hospice, for their dedicated care and service for Dale and Neola.

A small family service will be held Saturday, December 12, 2020. Interment will follow in the Provo City Cemetery, under the direction of Olpin Family Mortuary, Pleasant Grove, Utah. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.olpinmortuary.com, Due to Covid 19 restrictions face masks and social distancing are required.