Hiram "Hi" Miller Lake

Reverend Hiram Miller Lake, known as Hi, was born in Binghamton New York, August 6, 1925, to Hiram Miller Lake II and Ruth Gates Lake. On July 6, 2016 surrounded by his family he went to be with his heavenly father. During his childhood, Hi spent many idyllic summers on an Adirondack lake at the cottage of his Uncle Hal, sailing boats, reading adventure novels and Popular Mechanics, and working at Hals workshop all fostered in him skills with tools, a love of nature and a respect for the outdoors. These summers were vital preparation for his later explorations in New Guinea, his robust work ethic, and his technical expertise. Hi was drafted into the U.S. Navy out of his senior year in high school, was sent to Grove City College for training in electronics (including early studies of radar), and then was attached as radio man to a Marine unit for service in the Pacific. Following the Japanese surrender, Hi was part of a Navy technical contingent that installed US antennas at the top of the Yokohama radio tower entailing a 300 foot climb in the dead of night. In 1946 Hi married Mary Armstrong, the daughter of a minister in Johnson City, NY, and they soon went to college. They attended Nyack Missionary Training Institute in NY State to prepare for missionary work in a primitive tribe. They attended Presbyterian Hospital for non-medical missionaries for learning the many skills they would need on the mission field including giving shots and delivering babies.Then they attended Wheaton College, Illinois, where Hi earned a degree in anthropology. While he worked as an electronics buyer for IBM and later for General Electric, they made plans for missionary service in New Guinea, including courses in tropical first aid, and in 1957 sailed to Netherlands New Guinea with their first two children. Because the Suez Canal was closed by a war, their freighter sailed around the tip of Africa and then to Singapore and onward to Hollandia, New Guinea. At each stop Hi visited markets and soaked in the local culture, one day exploring the markets of Dakar, Senegal, another time renting a bike for a day on the island of Labuan, near Borneo. In Dutch New Guinea, Hi and Mary served as missionaries with the Christian and Missionary Alliance for eight years, among the then recently discovered Dani people. They learned the unwritten Dani language, gave endless medical help, and taught people to read and write. Hi helped build two airstrips, assembled and repaired radios, gasoline engines, and generators, dug wells, developed rainwater storage systems, built five houses including a grass hut for the family, surveyed surrounding areas, and provided medical attention to the Dani people. His enthusiastic and skilled work and his neatly organized storage area was often remarked upon by other missionaries, and before Mission Aviation Fellowship hired its own radio technician, planes would sometimes land at his airstrip for radio repairs. Living among these primitive stone-age cannibals the Dani people were not always friendly, and more than once Hi confronted angry spear-wielding Dani with prayer and a smile. Hi and Mary walked for countless hours on the many trails in the Baliem Valley, to visit other missionaries, to find new Dani groups, and to give medical treatment in the villages. One memorable 22 mile trip entailed the crossing of a whitewater portion of the Baliem River on a native-built suspension bridge constructed only of vines and wooden floorboards in which most of the floorboards had fallen into the river. Upon returning to the US, Hi took a series of jobs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with RCA Laboratories, several research firms, and two hospitals. In 1975, he was hired by St. Marys Hospital, where he was Director of Materials Management overseeing five different departments for over seventeen years until his retirement.He was active in their church, now Autumn Ridge Church, providing leadership as an elder, teaching classes, singing in the choir and as a soloist, and reading the Bible in his rich bass voice. For many years he built furniture and other wooden masterpieces for family and friends in a basement woodworking shop. Hi is survived by his loving wife Mary of almost 70 years; four children, Larry (MaryBeth) Lake of CampHill PA, Karen (Rick) Foster, David (LeAnn) Lake and Kevin (Debi) Lake all of Rochester, eight grandchildren, and two great grandsons. Hi was preceded in death by his parents Hiram and Ruth Lake and brother John Lake. The family is grateful for the loving care that was provided by the staff at Samaritan Bethany and by Seasons Hospice. A Celebration of Life service will be held at Autumn Ridge Church with Rev. C. John Steer officiating on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 11:00. Visitation will be at Ranfranz & Vine Funeral Home on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 from 5:00pm 7:00pm and visitation will also be an hour before the service. Burial will be at Oakwood Cemetery. The family is planning to participate in the Rochester Walk to End Alzheimers, a 5K walk on August 27, 2016 which would have been Hi and Marys 70th wedding anniversary. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Alzheimers Association in honor of Hi. He lived an extraordinary life, but Alzheimers disease stole away those memories in his later years. Contributions can be given to support their team, Hi Lakes Legacy.Checks can be made out to the Alzheimers Association and given to family or sent to the Rochester office at 3224 6th Ave. NE, Unit A, Rochester, MN 55906. To share a special memory please visit www.ranfranzandvinefh.com Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Homes 5421 Royal Place NW Rochester, MN 55901 (507)289-3600