Kurt Miller's Story
On July 2nd, 1997 Kurt Miller, second son of Kyle and Melinda Miller, was born. His older brother Kaleb was almost three years old. Kurt was full of spunk and orneriness. He loved playing outside with his farm toys or tinkering with whatever he could get his hands on in the barn. Kurt was in 4H for eight years and the FFA while he was in high school. While in 4H, Kurt participated in the Farm Toy Scene Project, American Heritage, and the Dairy Calf Feeder Steer where he named his steers every year after characters from the Dukes of Hazzard. His last steer was Roscoe, who won first place the year it was shown by another member of 4H who became our friend.
When Kurt was born in 1997, we never thought we would have him on this earth for seventeen short years. We have peace knowing that he is with Jesus. We are very thankful for Billy Graham's ministry for this.
In August of 2014, we had borrowed a movie about Billy Graham's life and we watched it over the course of two days. We had no idea that the movie had such an affect on our son until greeting time at church one Sunday. A good friend of ours, Dan Armey, was speaking to Kurt about how Kurt had accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior earlier that week at school. We later found out after his passing that Kurt came to Christ through a conversation with a student at school over lunch.
Eight months later, Kurt met Jesus on April 17, 2015. The week before Kurt met Jesus, we had just returned from a family vacation. Kurt claimed on his Facebook account that it was the best trip ever.
On April 17, 2015, our world was turned upside down. Melinda picked up Kurt from school and Kurt would drive back since he had his permit. When they got home, Kurt changed into an old t-shirt and went outside to tinker, like he always did. Kurt's dad, Kyle, called Melinda after he got off work to make sure to tell Kurt that they were going to Kyle's parents for supper since Melinda was going to be working that night.
When Kyle got home, he honked his horn to let Kurt know he was home, but Kurt did not come out of the barn. Kyle heard Kurt's garden tractor running, and that is when he discovered that Kurt was under his garden tractor. Melinda did not know that Kurt had been in the barn tinkering with his tractor.
Kurt's John Deere 214 garden tractor was his pride and joy. He had bought it from a friend and had a snow blade on it so that he could plow snow and play with the tractor in the snow. One time he hit our deck steps, but he did fix them, "Kurt style". In 2014, he received snow chains for Christmas. His dad, Kyle, helped him put them on. He never took them off.
When we found Kurt, we came to the conclusion that Kurt had gotten stuck four times coming out of the barn due to the four stuck marks on the ground where he had shifted gears. He lifted the tractor four separate times in order to move it. Kurt had given himself a concussion on the fourth time, and the forensics expert told us that he left this earth peacefully. Our property was soon filled with friends, family, and the fire department to make sure we were doing well after what had just happened. Kurt had met Jesus.
While we were in shock in the days and months after the accident, God had us in his hands as he had a plan for us. Over 2,000 people came through the line at Kurt's viewing at First Baptist Church Warsaw. During Kurt's viewing we heard story after story about Kurt. We learned that Kurt had taken two younger students under his wing and help them around classes at school. That's just who Kurt was.
Kurt didn't play sports, but he was without a doubt the Tippy Valley Vikings biggest fan and cheerleader. He would always be reading the Times-Union sports section when he got home from school. The entire baseball team made an appearance at Kurt's viewing. Kurt would be missed greatly.
Kurt was a Burket Junior Fireman, so on the evening of his viewing, we had a Fireman's service for him. He loved to go to the County Fire Meetings with his dad each month. He had a great sense of humor as he joked with the various firemen.
Our church was packed out for the funeral, with standing room only and extra chairs set up in the sanctuary. Six of Kurt's best friends, all in the FFA, carried Kurt to his resting place. While the days ahead were difficult, God healed us a little at a time.
A year later, Melinda was able to reach out to another couple who had lost their son in a tractor accident. God used Melinda to share our story of grief and God's goodness. Over the years Melinda has been able to write letters to parents who have lost children, helping them to understand grief.
God was also working through Kyle as well. A few years later at a County Fire Meeting, Kyle was nominated to be the Chaplin for the County. He unanimously won the post. Kyle gets to publicly pray at all the County Fire Meetings. He is also the Chaplin for the Burket Fire Department, where he has served as a fireman for the last nineteen years. God has continued to heal us both as we share our story of tragedy to triumph.
Kurt's passing planted many seeds that we had no idea was happening. After Kurt's passing, a local youth group talked about Kurt, and some of those kids accepted Jesus as their Savior as a result of Kurt's passing. One of these seeds was even planted in our own church. Pastor Steve's daughter Meribeth also accepted Christ as her Savior when she was eight years old after Kurt's funeral.
The following is Meribeth's testimony:
"In March of 2015 my dad was offered the pastoral role at FBC and my family moved to Warsaw, Indiana. On my first Sunday there, I walked into the church before Sunday School and heard loud, happy shouts and the sound of shoes swiftly tapping the ground. Three or four little kids were playing kickball, and a teenage boy was pitching for them. I learned later that this boy was Kurt Miller. He passed away less than a month after I first saw him.
This deeply hurt the hearts of his family and many friends. But God used the devastating death of Kurt to cut deep into my heart and plant the good news of Christ's defeat of death. After my family got home from Kurt's funeral, I was scared. I was scared to die. Scared that my life would end before I was ready to appear before God. As I cried that night, my mom found me and told me that because Kurt trusted in Jesus Christ, he is resting with God. She shared with me some verses from 1 Corinthians 15: 'Oh Death, where is your sting? Oh Hell, where is your victory?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Although I had never once interacted with Kurt, God used his death to give me eternal life. And when Christ comes back, Kurt will be raised to new life with him, and all of God's children will enjoy the new heavens and the new earth. And maybe, when this boy that I never met is walking the streets of the New Jerusalem, I will see him. Maybe he will be walking with his parents, or some old friends, or maybe some new friends.
I would like to thank Kurt for inviting me into the Kingdom, and I would tell him all that God did in me through him. But before these glorious days arrive, I find joy knowing Kurt has finished the race and is home. And I'm not so afraid of finishing the race, because for those who trust in Christ, it is actually a wonderful beginning."
This is just one seed of many that was planted because of how God used Kurt's faith. We continue to talk about Kurt because of who he was, and he is still missed greatly. In April 2025, we passed his ten year home-going. It still feels like it happened yesterday.
The grief that we felt was very exhausting from the tears that rolled down our faces, as we went from three in our house to empty nesters in a split second. Child loss is very heart wrenching. The Sunday after Kurt's accident, Pastor Steve said that "it is like an elephant sitting on you and you are trying to catch your breath." Our chests hurt from the pain we had and were experiencing.
But we will always give God the glory amidst our tragedy! God has brought us closer together as a couple and he is still working in and through us. Thank you for taking the time to read Kurt's story.