Lance Miner

Gerry Lance Miner, 81, of Ammon, passed away peacefully April 5, 2025, at his home with his loving wife, Ranae, by his side.

Lance was born October 1, 1943, in Provo, Utah, to Lynn A Miner and Ruth Elizabeth Gabbitas Miner. He grew up and attended school in Orem, Utah. While growing up in Orem, he and his brother found every option for mischief and mayhem. His mom, Ruth, said it was a miracle either of her boys survived to adulthood. Activities included floating down the flooded Provo River, having neighborhood stone throwing fights, and jumping out of trees, covered in ketchup to land on cars to terrify the drivers that they had killed a local kid. In high school, he and his friend, Lynn Muhlestein, “ice climbed” Bridal Veil Falls with modified hammers and a rope from the local hardware store.

After graduating from high school, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Canadian Mission serving in Eastern Canada. Upon returning from his mission, he attended and graduated from BYU in 1967. While at BYU, he met the love of his life, and on July 20, 1967, he married Ranae Stokes in the Idaho Falls Temple. Lance and Ranae traveled all around the US while Lance served as a pilot in the US Air Force and had 11 moves in 6 years. He served two tours in Vietnam and was proud of his military service and is a proud combat veteran. He received numerous awards and medals, including two distinguished flying crosses.

He told one story from his time during initial flight training about a flight over a reservoir out in the west. Lance and his wing were flying low over the surface and then over the water. Ahead there was a single boat with a fisherman peacefully bobbing in the water. Lance schemed that they should vector in on his position and pull hard up on the stick to go vertical right over the boat. At the time, he thought it was hilarious that the fisherman had the surprise of his life. It was only after the fact that he wondered if instead of a surprise he might have caused a heart attack. He checked the local papers for a few days to see if any old fisherman had died of a heart attack on their boat. Luckily none had.

One entertaining story from his second tour in Vietnam as a UH-1 Huey gunship pilot, every day at the forward operating base (FOB) he would take a .50 caliber round and pry the bullet out and light the remaining gun powder. He called it the “noon rocket,” but the last time he lit one off it was the dry season, and a massive fire ensued. The helicopters had to use their rotor wash to keep the flames away from the fuel bladders. The commanding officer wanted to have his head for that one, but there was a side benefit of clearing out all of the cover and concealment for the VC that regularly probed the defenses of the FOB. So he dodged a bullet on that one.

After a couple of post Air Force moves, they made their home in Ammon, Idaho, where Lance opened a branch of the Stokes Grocery Store chain. He made many friends in Idaho and was always the life of the party. On one outing water skiing with one of those friends, Lance dropped a ski to go slalom. However, the speed of the boat was higher than they expected and he lost balance and Lance became a human wishbone. The impact tore his pelvis in two and all of the muscles in his abdominal wall. In spite of severe internal bleeding and life altering injuries, he made the most out of his time in the hospital. To entertain himself and terrify the nurses, he would have one of the kids bring in some of his horror masks or a giant frog head. Imagine the surprise of the overnight watch when they walked into his room to see a terrifying mask peering out of the hospital bed instead of Lance. If he was going to lay awake in pain, he might as well get a good laugh.

Lance loved hunting, fishing, camping, trips to Yellowstone for wildlife photography, and time with family up at the cabin in Star Valley. One thing that was consistent about any Miner family trip was that there were always fewer seats than there were people. Even when Lance was flying the Cessna up from Utah, one or two kids were stashed on a lap or in the luggage area.

Lance served in many callings in the Church, but serving as a Scout Master in the BSA was one of his favorites. He inspired many young men, including his own sons and several grandsons to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. He remained an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for his entire life and wanted to have all of his posterity remain faithful in the Gospel. The four most important things to Lance in this life were a love of the Gospel, love of his family, love of America, and God’s natural beauty.

Lance is survived by his wife, Ranae (Stokes) Miner of Ammon, ID; son, Brian (Polly) Miner of Star Valley Ranch, WY; daughter, Jennifer (George) Papich of Fairfax, VA; daughter, Kimberly (Dennis) Ketterman of Pocatello, ID; son, Jeremy (Laurelyn) Miner of Anchorage, AK; son, Brandon (Amy) Miner of Ammon, ID; brother, Craig Miner of Orem, UT; 20 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 12, 2025, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Central Building, 3000 Central Avenue. The family will visit with friends Friday from 6:30-8 p.m. at Wood Funeral Home East Side, 963 S. Ammon Road, and Saturday from 10-10:45 a.m. prior to services at the church. Burial will be in the Ammon Cemetery. Military Honors will be performed by the Bonneville County Veterans Memorial Team and United States Air Force Honor Guard.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.woodfuneralhome.com.