Joseph Leroy Millard, 79, of Osawatomie, Kansas, passed away Saturday, September 27, 2014, after a brief illness.

Leroy was born November 2, 1934, in Beagle, Kansas, to Ben and Nora Dedrick Millard. He attended country schools until Junior High, when he transferred to Osawatomie schools, graduating from Osawatomie High School with the Class of 1952.

In 1953, he married his high-school sweetheart, Verna Landers on April 28th in Fort Scott, Kansas. To this union, a daughter, Lynda Diane, was born in 1961.

In 1954, Leroy went to work in the Estimating Department of Fluor Corporation in Paola.

In 1957, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and served four years, during which he spent time in the Azores Islands.

In the early 1960's, four employees, Burrows, Edgeworth, Hitz and Miller, formed their own company, BEHM, where Leroy worked as Chief Estimator and Shop Manager. The company was later bought out by Taylor Forge, where Leroy continued working until his retirement in 2000.

Leroy and Verna divorced in 1967, and Verna and Lynda moved to Houston, TX, where Lynda grew up and attended school. Lynda has fond memories of spending her summers and holidays in Beagle with her dad and grandparents.

Leroy and Verna were reunited when both were visiting Lynda in Houston. On the very same date twenty-five years later, April 28, 1991 Leroy and Verna remarried.

In 2000, they sold their home in rural Lane, and traveled full-time in their Airstream RV for the next 10 years.

Leroy was an expert hunter and fisherman and had an impressive gun collection. He was once named one of the Top Ten Trapshooters in Eastern Kansas. He enjoyed fishing the waters of the Gulf during their RV travels and attending gun shows across the country.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ben and Nora Millard.

He is survived by his wife, Verna, of the home; daughter, Lynda of Austin, TX; twin grandchildren, Tabber and Taylor Millard of Alvin, TX, five great-grandchildren, and ‘adopted’ daughter, Ginger Doss. He is also survived by many dear cousins.

Visitation is from 6PM to 8PM Friday, October 3rd, with military honors at 7 PM, at Eddy-Birchard Funeral Home in Osawatomie.