Lyle Warren Miller, 76

Lyle Warren Miller, 76, of Federal Way, WA, passed away on July 28, 2026, moments after listening to one of his favorite songs, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, by Iron Butterfly, with the 11-minute drum solo he loved.

He was born Sept. 30, 1949, in Wenatchee, WA, to Mae (Jones) and Lester Miller, who became CIA Field Agents during Lyle’s childhood. Lyle and his two siblings, Steve and Linda, grew up overseas in Guam, Saipan, Okinawa, and Taiwan. Lyle attended high school in Athens, Greece, where he drummed in a teenage rock band. He returned to the United States to earn a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Washington while playing goalie on the Men’s Varsity Soccer team, and then a Master of Public Administration from Seattle University.

Lyle gave up his own successful career as a Special Agent in the Naval Investigative Service (now NCIS) to spend more time with his young family. Lyle’s story is a love story, and at the heart of it is his life-long true love, Betsy Miller (nee Bosley). Lyle asked Betsy to dance at the Northlake Tavern in Seattle’s University District in 1971, and they became inseparable. They married in 1974, traveled the world on their honeymoon, had two kids, and spent 30 loving years together until Betsy’s death from Multiple Myeloma in 2001. Lyle was Betsy’s devoted caregiver for the last ten years of her life. Their two children, Leigh and Bryan, are honored to have returned that caregiving to Lyle during his own ten-year journey with Parkinson’s.

Mr. Miller was a beloved high school social studies teacher for 35 years. He inspired thousands of students with lively stories (many of them true) of his adventures traveling the world. Mr. Miller taught in school districts throughout Washington, including Mead, South Kitsap, Central Kitsap, Bremerton, and Peninsula, where he taught his own kids at Gig Harbor High School. He coached golf and soccer throughout his teaching career, earning Pierce County League Coach of the Year honors in 1997.

Lyle is preceded in death by his wife, brother, and parents. His memory lives on in his sister; his two kids and their spouses, Chris (Leigh) and Maggie (Bryan); his four grandchildren, Sophia Hafner, Jackson Hafner, Grace Miller, and Ignatius Miller; in his nieces and nephews, Steve Miller, Jr. (Steve), Theresa Garcia (Steve), Christofer Nelson (Linda) and Bryanne Hoffee (Linda); in his grandnephews, Henry and Charles Hoffee (Bryanne) and August Garcia (Theresa), and in his grandniece, Crystal Garcia (Theresa). We surrounded Lyle in his final days. We loved him as much as he loved us.

On Betsy’s birthday this fall, Lyle’s family will reunite these two love-birds in a private ceremony. To honor Lyle’s extraordinary life, please donate to The City of Hope (cityofhope.org), the place that gave Lyle seven extra years with the love of his life.