The impact of one teacher, now retired and living on South Whidbey, resonated over the past five decades with a few students.

Jim Miller, who worked in the Edmonds School District for 28 years before retiring in 1983 and eventually moving to Langley, visited with students from his first class at Lynnwood Junior High School in late July over a table at Useless Bay Coffee Company. Julie Jacoby became an educator herself in Olympia and now is also retired. She had not seen “Mr. Miller” since that class 58 years ago.

“All 36 of us were a diverse group which he tamed with compassion, humor and team-building,” she said in a news release. “That year in his class was the highlight of junior high for me; because of his dedication, our class functioned as a family. He was also one of the reasons I chose to become a teacher.”

Two of the other former students felt they owed a great deal of their life successes to Mr. Miller’s impact. Joe McIntosh, who owned four auto parts shops in the Puget Sound area, recalled being drawn into Mr. Miller’s enthusiasm.

“He brought out in us something that other teachers didn’t,” McIntosh said in the press release. “We wanted to please him; we wanted his approval.”

Gary Manchester had a similar resonance with Mr. Miller.

“I had no role models in my family or neighborhood to talk to about college,” he said. “Mr. Miller took time one-on-one with me and encouraged me to go to Washington State University and study engineering … I wound up doing everything he suggested and enjoyed a successful career in engineering/construction.”

That story is still one being shared at Washington State University’s graduation by the Dean of Education, imploring the would-be educators to aspire to inspire their students.

After the former students thanked their former teacher, Mr. Miller reached for his wallet and bought them lunch.