Ross Miller Grows Family and Community

At Miller Farms Nursery

Ross Miller. Photos by Melissa Sanderson

When Ross Miller was dragged to a wedding reception (technically crashing) during his Thanksgiving holiday, the last thing he expected was a family friend introducing him to his future wife, Kelly. After throwing their own reception, the newly minted Millers started their own branch of the industrious family tree. Ross and Kelly raised sons Lucas and Gavin while tending the multigenerational Miller Farms Nursery that has anchored McKinleyville’s Central Avenue since 1963. The business sprouted on the original family farm which had been established in 1912.

Miller’s father Don and uncle Dick took the family farm from cows, chickens and seed potatoes to a thriving business that grew organically to meet the needs of the developing McKinleyville. Always a forward-looking family, like when they introduced a cool egg vending machine in 1964, the Millers took their own motto of “Grow with us” to heart. The nursery that started as a side business added landscaping and power equipment services. The Miller eye for innovation has kept the business successful as times change. Pruning and grafting works on more than flora, like adding certified automatic gate installations to their landscaping services. 

From accounting to lawn mower repair, the multifaceted business gives family members an opportunity to play to their individual strengths. Not everyone has a green thumb! This approach allows Ross and Kelly, son Gavin and daughter-in-law Kaitlyn, brother Scott and his sons Logan and Hayden to all play on the same team. Dick’s daughter Lori retired from Miller Farms last year. His daughter Linda took over her grandfather’s insurance business, finding her own comfortable component in the family’s many trades. Son Lucas plays to his strengths by serving our country full time, from former Marine to active Navy. 

Ross Miller.

As far as teams go, Ross and Kelly have worked to provide McKinleyville’s youth sports with a place to play. The next time you head to Hiller Sports Complex to cheer for your child or watch that rad kid of yours catch air (as you hold your breath) at Pierson Park, think of the many community members like the Millers who made it possible. 

Ross served on the Hiller Sports Complex Construction Committee making a community dream a reality. Hiller’s seven fields hosts hundreds of games annually. McKinleyville’s youth participate in a venerable American tradition, baseball, on fields built just for them. Having coached a long line of McKinleyville’s up and coming sluggers, Ross knows the devil is in the details — field measurements that is. Little League fields do not have the same dimensions as Babe Ruth League fields and that is just the tip of the bat. From the infield hypotenuse (your high school geometry does have a purpose) to pitching distance, the hard and softball game regulations were met. And who better than the local landscaping expert to plan the construction of flat, well-drained infields made of sand, silt, and clay? The complex even made sure that future Mia Hamms have two collegiate size soccer fields to train for their own golden moment of Olympic glory.

The sporting gene runs deep in the Miller family, with three generations of varsity football players. Ross took to coaching as a natural progression from his own playing days at McKinleyville High School and later quarterbacking at Humboldt State University. From recreational sports to MHS Panthers, he trained hundreds of Humboldt batters, ballers and kickers. Ross and Kelly kept their game ball in play as they served the McKinleyville High School community. They volunteered for the high school orientation program, helping anxious former middle schoolers become well-adjusted freshmen. It is only fitting that they also served on the booster club Panther Partners board of directors. This is a couple who kept their sleeves rolled up for the best reason: investing in local youth.

“My Humboldt Life is a family and life story with deep roots and new shoots to come.”

Ross chats with staff at Miller Farms Nursery.

Years of community service garnered Ross and Kelly the 2015 Azalea Award, bestowed by McKinleyville’s past Azalea winners. Whether growing family or community, the Millers have added more than beautiful gardens to Humboldt. The assets they helped build keep McKinleyville and Humboldt a great place to raise your children. Ross and Kelly take time to dote on their grandchildren but still keep their community tools at the ready.

As for the future, Ross has his eyes open. “My Humboldt life is a family and life story with deep roots and new shoots to come.” He hinted that Miller Farms Nursery will continue to prune and graft their offerings to keep the family business vital into the next generation. When you stop in to see if the Millers can help you with that drainage problem you have in your flower bed, thank them for their years of service to McKinleyville and Humboldt County. Feel free to wear a photo button of your own little slugger sliding into home at Hiller Sports Complex.

Miller Farms Nursery
1828 Central Ave.,
McKinleyville, CA 95519
(707) 839-1571
millerfarmsnursery.com