Paul L. Miles

Paul L. Miles died July 7th, 2023, at Utah Valley hospital, after a brief illness. Paul was born on March 3, 1937, in a little three-room house on West Center Street in Blackfoot, Idaho. Though his parents Henry and Amelia were not active in church when he was young, they did teach him to pray, and he remembers always having faith in God.

After graduating from high school, he entered the Navy, serving on a submarine stationed in Key West, Florida for three years. During this time, his parents became active in church, and he knew his father had started to pay tithing, so he did the same. After his Navy service he attended Ricks College with his brother Henry, during which time he started dating a young lady. When it didn’t work out, he resisted the idea of going on a mission, but received a strong and sure witness that he should, eventually receiving a call and serving in the Southern States mission.

After his mission Paul continued his education at Brigham Young University, graduating two years later, then moved to Idaho Falls to teach at Central Junior High. There he met Alice Elaine Jeppson and the two began dating in 1962. They married June 7th, 1963, in the Idaho Falls LDS temple. Paul decided to enroll in graduate school, so the couple moved to Provo to attend summer school, after which they relocated to Tucson to complete studies at the University of Arizona. After graduation the couple moved back to Pocatello where Paul began a teaching job at Highland High School. In Pocatello their first child was born, then in 1965 the family moved to Moscow, Idaho, where Paul accepted a teaching position at the University of Idaho. Paul and Elaine raised their family of six children in Moscow where they enjoyed serving in the church and where they made lifelong friends. In 2012, Paul and Elaine moved to Springville, UT, to be closer to their family. They quickly made friends in their new location and enjoyed living closer to several of their children and grandchildren. In their retirement they loved spending winters in Queen Valley, AZ, and summer months with their children and grandchildren at their cabin at Rocky Point, on the south end of Lake Coeur dáAlene.

Paul was preceded in death by his beloved wife Alice Elaine Miles on May 11, 2023. He is survived by his brothers Henry Miles (Carol) Orem, UT, Jerry Miles (Blackfoot, ID), and Enoch Miles (LaRue) Idaho Falls, ID; by his children Michael Miles (Ann), Springville, UT; Mat Miles (Debbie), Rexburg, ID; Nate Miles, Lindon UT; Mary Wagstaff (Michael), Spokane WA; Amy Weiss, Gilbert AZ, and Suzy Hinckley (Marc), Alpharetta, GA. He had 22 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren who loved him and enjoyed his sense of humor and his kind disposition.

Services will be held on Saturday, July 15, 2023, at the Springville LDS Stake Center located at 245 South 600 East, Springville, UT. A viewing will be held from 9:30-10:30 am in the Stake Center Relief Society Room and the funeral will begin at 11:00 am in the chapel. Interment will be at the Evergreen Cemetery in Springville. To leave condolences please visit:www.wheelermortuary.com