Dwight Miller, 84, ongtime Vt. farmer

DUMMERSTON, Vt. - An 84-year-old man whose family has farmed in southeastern Vermont for 200 years died Saturday while working on the land that he loved.

Dwight Miller Jr. was fatally injured when his pickup truck apparently rolled over him while he was waging what his daughter-in-law said was his endless battle against weeds.

"He was an active man his entire life, and he was doing something the moment he died," said his son, Read. "He was a very fortunate man. He lived his life exactly the way he wanted."

Dwight Miller was a seventh-generation Vermont farmer who spent his entire life working on the family's apple orchard and farm.

As Mr. Miller aged, his biggest concern was that he be able to continue spending time on his land.

"I can't think of anything I like better than farming," he told the Brattleboro Reformer before he received the Agricultural Leadership Award at the Strolling of the Heifers Farm Summit in 2004.

"He was one of the most well-respected horticulturists in the state and throughout the region," said Vern Grubinger of the University of Vermont Extension Service.

Read Miller now runs the family farm.