Thousands Help Pay Tribute To Late Jazz Owner Larry Miller
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Hatch (r) One Of Several Dignitaries To Pay
Respects To Miller (l) During Saturday's Service |
Late Jazz Owner LARRY MILLER's funeral service Saturday at EnergySolutions Arena drew a crowd of about 2,000, including NBA Commissioner DAVID STERN and "Jazz players past and present," according to Ross Siler of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. Each of Miller's five children spoke as part of the 90-minute service, though there were "few mentions of the Jazz," which Miller bought outright in '86. However, one of Larry's sons, ROGER MILLER, did "credit his father with risking everything to buy the team and keep it in Utah and then risk everything a second time" to build the arena. Utah Gov. JON HUNTSMAN, U.S. Sens. BOB BENNETT (R-UT) and ORRIN HATCH (R-UT) and LDS Church President THOMAS MONSON also attended the service, during which "black curtains were draped over the upper deck seats and the usual ushers wore suits and handed out programs" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 3/1).
A LASTING LEGACY: Hatch said, "I flew out [from DC] especially for this. I wasn't going to fail to be here to pay my respects." Hatch added, "I don't know of very many people in his category who have done so much for our state, who meant so much to us and who really just had a great attitude and a great ability to help people. And he did it day in, day out" (DESERET NEWS, 3/1). In Salt Lake City, Kurt Kragthorpe wrote there can be "no minimizing of Miller's impact on professional sports" in Utah. Miller "saved the franchise and built the arena, and no team has ever meant more to a town than the Jazz in Salt Lake City" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 3/1). In Utah, Lee Benson in a front-page piece wrote Miller "leaves a legacy of sticking by his culture and his friends with a loyalty uncommon by almost anyone else's standards" (DESERET NEWS, 3/1).
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