By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times
In 2019, Friends of Lake Panorama launched a program called Benches at Beaches. It started as a way to help families donate a high-quality metal bench that could include a plaque to memorialize a loved one.
A new swinging bench was installed in late July at Boulder Beach. It was given in memory of two children of Scott and Sherri Miller and is the fourth in a row of blue swinging benches along the Boulder Beach wall.
The Millers’ daughter, Sarah Miller Bryan, passed away Jan. 28, 2023, at the age of 41. Their son, Jacob Scott Miller, died Jan. 31, 2024, at the age of 34.
“They were very close,” Sherri Miller says. “Sarah was our oldest of four children, and Jacob was our youngest. When he was a baby, she would get him a bottle when he woke up. She treated him like he was her own baby.”
The Miller family lived in Perry for almost 40 years with their children graduating from Perry High School. Sarah graduated in 2000 and Jacob in 2009. They were both active in school and played on their high school golf teams.
After high school, Sarah graduated from Simpson College and returned to Perry to teach kindergarten.
“She loved all of her students, and she considered and called them her kids,” Sherri says.
Jacob was proud of his golf game and wanted to take it beyond being a hobby.
“That didn’t happen, but he still loved to play,” Sherri says. “He was looking forward to teaching his nieces and nephew how to play.”
As adults, both Sarah and Jacob suffered from an autoimmune disease that attacked their livers. Sarah had a liver transplant in 2015, which extended her life eight years. Jacob was waiting for a transplant when he died.
Scott and Sherri moved to Lake Panorama full-time in 2016, after having both their home in Perry and a condo at the lake for a couple of years.
“Lake Panorama has felt like home ever since,” Sherri says. “It’s a great community. We dived right in, getting involved and making friends.”
Once the Millers were settled at Lake Panorama, Sarah and her husband, Matt Bryan, enjoyed frequent visits.
“She loved being on the boat and spending time on the beaches,” Sherri says. “She also liked to just sit on our deck and hang out with us.”
Jacob lived with his parents the last three years of his life.
“He loved to grill and was always trying new recipes and looking for new ideas,” Sherri says. “When the first swinging benches were installed at Boulder Beach, he and I enjoyed sitting on the benches near the beach or on the playground.”
The Millers consider Jim and Julie Tibbles their best friends. The Tibbles also moved from Perry to Lake Panorama a couple of years before the Millers. After Jacob’s death, Jim and Julie approached Scott and Sherri about the possibility of a bench at Boulder Beach in memory of Sarah and Jacob.
“I had already thought about a bench,” Sherri says. “When they brought the idea to us, we knew that would be great. It seemed like a meaningful way to honor Sarah and Jacob.”
The Tibbles donated funds for the bench and asked other friends of the Millers if they were interested in helping.
The plaque on the bench reads “In Loving Memory of Sarah Miller Bryan, 1982-2023, and Jacob Scott Miller, 1989-2024. We miss you every day!”
Sherri often visits the bench in the mornings and evenings.
“I like the location, with a big boulder on one side, a flower pot on the other, and the great views of the lake,” she says. “I find it very restorative and peaceful, even if I just sit there for five minutes.”
Benches at Beaches targets individuals, couples and families interested in sponsoring a single bench. Benches can be purchased as a memorial for a loved one or by those who want to leave their mark on Lake Panorama while they are alive. Both stationary and swinging benches are available and are installed on a concrete slab.
Smaller benches have been donated and installed at all three beach playgrounds, the dog park and along the south shore trail and are another option for donors to consider. Those interested in discussing a bench donation can email staff@friendsoflakepanorama.org.