Milton

Milton grew up on his dad Joe’s humble Minnesota dairy farm. He was quiet, curious, dependable, and naturally gifted with anything mechanical or electrical. That farm boy would eventually join the U.S. Navy, serve during the Korean War as an electrician’s mate, come home, raise five boys, and build a life defined by responsibility, hard work, and showing up when people needed him, especially as an electrician.

Life asked a great deal of him. He lost his wife to breast cancer at a younger age and carried responsibilities that rarely left much room for himself. Milton was never a man who needed many words. But music seemed to say the things he didn’t. He played guitar and mandolin, joining his siblings in old-time music at family gatherings and performing whenever and wherever he had the chance.

Through work, war, grief, fatherhood, and the passing years, music remained one of the few constants in his life. Quiet. Reliable. Steady. Milton may not have talked much about what mattered most to him, but he played it. And he kept playing for the rest of his life. His boys grew up with that music in the room, and each carried some part of it forward into their own lives.

His music is the soundtrack of David’s short film, Dear Dr Lilja.