Wife of former Wichita State coach Ralph Miller dies

Jean Miller, 93, died last week in Bend, Ore., according to the Oregon State athletic program. She was married for 57 years to Ralph Miller, former basketball coach at East High, Wichita State, Iowa and Oregon.

She is survived by children Paul, Susan and Shannon and her brother, Jack, and sister, Suzie. Ralph Miller, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, died in 2001. The couple met while students at the University of Kansas in 1937 in a physiology class with alphabetical seating. Emily Jean Milam, from Topeka, and Ralph Miller, from Chanute, married in 1942.

Ralph Miller coached at East from 1948 until he moved to the University of Wichita in 1951. He coached the Shockers until 1964, guiding the program to three NIT appearances and the 1964 NCAA Tournament in 13 seasons. He coached at Iowa for six seasons before moving to Oregon State in 1970. He spent 19 years there and led the Beavers to four Pac-10 titles and eight NCAA Tournaments.

Memorials can be sent to the Ralph H. and Richard F. Miller Scholarship Fund at Wichita State or to the Ralph H. Miller Scholarship Fund at Oregon State.

This story was originally published August 14, 2014 at 9:06 AM with the headline "Wife of former Wichita State coach Ralph Miller dies."