Cletus B. Miller, 96, of Decatur, Indiana, passed away on Friday, November 11, 2016 at his residence. He was born on May 25, 1920 at the family farm, the last of 5 children of the late John and Rose (Kurber) Miller. He attended St. Joseph Catholic School and Decatur Catholic High School in Decatur, Indiana. After working at Mutschler Packing Company for 3 years; he then joined the U.S. Army Corps on December 26, 1941. After basic training in Texas, he was sent to Washington D.C. for 4 months. He spent 4 weeks in Palm Beach, Florida and was sent to Belem, Brazil for 26 months with Air Transport Command. He returned to Miami, Florida in September of 1944, where he was treated at the Army Hospital (the famous Biltmore Hotel before WWII and is once again the famous 5 diamond Biltmore Hotel) for Type-A Hepatitis. After hospitalization, he operated an Officers’ Club in the Old Kellogg Institute in Coral Gables, Florida, which was secured by the Army. He became a sergeant on May 18, 1942, a staff sergeant on November 1, 1942, and a technical sergeant in April of 1943. He was discharged on October 31, 1945 from Miami 36th Street Air Base in Florida. After working at the Knights of Columbus and Victory Bar in Decatur, he purchased Riverview Gardens on December 1, 1947. He then sold it on October 16, 1950 to take over Fairway Restaurant on November 26, 1950. Incidentally, Riverview Gardens was a very successful venture for Clete, thanks to his hard work and dedication to detail. Clete worked very hard to create a most unusual restaurant in the Fairway and after making some necessary and fine additions; he had an open house for it on December 12, 1954. He married Bette J. Drennen on July 4, 1955 and they had 2 sons, John Matthew Miller, born on November 5, 1956 and Stephen Charles Miller, born on November 5, 1958. Clete’s parents celebrated their 50th Wedding anniversary on October 16, 1955. The Fairway Restaurant was a very successful venture, thanks to Clete’s hard work and ingenuity. He operated this restaurant until January 1, 1976, when he then opened the Back 40 Junction, 3 blocks north of the original site. He had purchased 3 acres of land and built a restaurant, which resembled an old fashioned train depot, complete with a travel car and caboose near the front entrance. He filled the restaurant with antiques which drew interested people from mile around and they also enjoyed the delicious food. He then leased the restaurant to Azar Inc. in Ft. Wayne in 1982 and retired from active participation in the restaurant, but kept busy maintaining the antiques inside the building and the grounds outside. He sold the Back 40 to Azar Inc. in December of 2003. Clete loved his wife Bette with all his heart and always stated she was the “best thing that ever happened to him.” They had 52 years together before her passing on June 19, 2007. He is survived by his son, John Miller of Brownsburg, Indiana and his 2 children Natalya and Matthew Miller and his son, Stephen Miller and his wife, Vicky Miller of Queensbury, New York. He is also survived by several close family members and friends. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church. Visitation will be held 2 hours prior to the service from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in the St. Mary’s Parish Hall, with a reciting of the Holy Rosary at 10:30 a.m. Officiating will be Fr. Bob J. Lengerich and burial will take place in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, with military graveside rites conducted by the American Legion Post 43 Color Guard. Memorials may be made to St. Mary’s Building on Our Heritage.