 | | | Wayne F. Miller (1918-2013) Photo courtesy Joan Miller
| | | | | | On June 4, Orinda City Council members took the highly unusual step of adjourning their regularly scheduled meeting not at the end of that meeting - but at the beginning. They did so to honor longtime Orindan Wayne F. Miller, who passed away May 22.
Orinda mayor Amy Worth, when eulogizing the famed photographer, spoke of the community's sadness at his passing, and recalled his "extensive photography around the world."
Perhaps best known for his Life magazine photograph capturing the miracle of human birth, Miller preserved many of the most poignant moments of World War II, including the peach-fuzzed faces of young naval aviators, President Roosevelt's funeral, and the aftermath of the atomic blast at Hiroshima. The childbirth photo captured the moment his son, David, entered the world, and is now literally "where no man has gone before" - approaching interstellar space aboard the Voyager I spacecraft, which launched in 1977.
Miller and his wife, Joan, moved to California in 1948 at the suggestion of fellow famed documentary photographer Dorothea Lange, choosing to raise their four children here in Orinda. They chronicled the lives of Dana, David, Jeanette, and Peter, as well as the lives of their Glorietta Elementary School classmates in the book, "The World Is Young."
In thanking the council on behalf of the Miller family, Miller's granddaughter, Inga, announced that a public memorial will be held in September, and invited all Orinda residents to attend. More information will follow as plans are finalized.
To learn more about Wayne F. Miller and his work visit our online archive at www.lamorindaweekly.com and read Laurie Snyder's articles entitled "A Hug for All Time" and "Sharing the Moment with Photojournalist Wayne F. Miller."
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA