Dodger pride
Miller showed his love for Fort Dodge through coaching, teaching and relationships
-
-Submitted photo
Aaron Miller participates in a game of bags during a Fort Dodge Middle School field day in 2024.
-
-Submitted photo
Aaron Miller works with a student in his seventh-grade social studies class at the Fort Dodge Middle School in this fall 2023 photo.
![](https://ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com/www.messengernews.net/images/2025/01/13214725/Miller-bags-2-680x840.jpg)
-Submitted photo
Aaron Miller participates in a game of bags during a Fort Dodge Middle School field day in 2024.
Aaron Miller had an uncanny ability to make people feel special.
Whether it was one of his one-liners or just a conversation that went from light to serious, Miller was a people person at all times.
Through his decade-plus of teaching and working in the Fort Dodge Community School District, Miller built relationships with Dodgers from all walks of life. And if he saw a student in the hallway or on the field or diamond, Miller was quick to pick up someone who was struggling and needed support.
The community continues to mourn the death of the 2007 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate, who passed away in a car accident early Saturday morning.
“This is going to sting for a very long time,” said Superintendent Josh Porter. “The guy had the biggest heart and cared about everybody. That’s what kids need — unconditional love. He was there for any kid, whether it was with academics or in other (areas of life).
![](https://ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com/www.messengernews.net/images/2025/01/13214749/Aaron-Miller-1-1100x704.jpg)
-Submitted photo
Aaron Miller works with a student in his seventh-grade social studies class at the Fort Dodge Middle School in this fall 2023 photo.
“He didn’t have to be serious all the time, but he was present and there for the moment. He got the most out of every kid, and they would give that for him.”
Miller wore many hats in the district, helping athletes in basketball, baseball, football and others. He was currently an assistant principal at the Fort Dodge Middle School, and in the summer months, also served as varsity assistant coach for the Dodger softball team.
He was truly a homegrown Dodger. A state wrestling qualifier. A state baseball qualifier. A coach. A teacher. An administrator.
And a friend to so many.
“He is the epitome of what being a Dodger is all about,” said Porter, himself a 1999 Senior High graduate. “He is a homegrown kid who went through the ranks and became a teacher. He really had a passion to get into administration for a long time. I coached him in baseball when he was younger, and had known him his whole life.
“He was always volunteering and trying to help in whatever way he could.”
Miller was in his first year as an assistant principal at Fort Dodge Middle School, where he continued to build relationships that would leave a lasting impression.
“First and foremost, he had an ability to build strong relationships with students,” said first-year FDMS Principal Shawn Chesteen. “It came naturally to him. He was able to help students who were having difficult times and calm them down and get the student to talk to him.”
After the weekend tragedy, students returned to the middle school on Monday with heavy hearts.
“It’s just a huge loss,” Chesteen said. “He was a hometown kid who went to Fort Dodge schools, and was everything Fort Dodge. Everyone knew him.
“He had a willingness to help anyone. There wasn’t a person he wouldn’t help. This is a great loss to the people of the community.”
Miller’s life began in Fort Dodge, and as a Dodger, the student-athlete took him through time on the baseball diamond and the wrestling mat, where he enjoyed success.
He played and coached for current Fort Dodge Senior High Assistant Principal Matt Elsbecker.
“This is a sock to the gut,” said Elsbecker. “Hearing the news that Aaron passed away is a tremendous loss not to just the district, but to all of us in this community.
“I appreciate that I was able to know him as a middle schooler. He was the player that every coach wanted. A guy that would run through a wall for you, while doing the things he needed to do. He carried that mentality into his professional life as an educator.”
Miller’s first stint of coaching was with Elsbecker on the baseball diamond in the summer of 2012. He coached for the Dodgers while he was attending Bethany Lutheran in Mankato, Minnesota.
“With (the Dodger baseball team), he was so new and still playing,” Elsbecker said. “I knew him well as an athletic director and administrator. He coached Maggie (Elsbecker’s daughter).
“He was very positive, kept situations light, and would work with anybody.”
Miller’s persona was that of someone who would lend a hand without hesitation.
“He was involved in so many different groups, and I think it was mostly because he was able to communicate so well,” Elsbecker said. “He helped connect with kids in the middle school building and the softball field, and really, everywhere he was involved.
‘“He was a part of many programs. Just a dynamic individual.”
The fact that Miller helped or interacted with anyone was something that Elsbecker saw clearly.
“Aaron Miller was the guy, if he was hosting a party, he would make everyone feel like they should be there and belong,” Elsbecker said. “And that fit with his teaching. Truly good coaches are good teachers.
“He taught so he could be a good coach, and coached so he could teach.”
On the wrestling mat, Miller was everything a Dodger represented.
“Aaron was the kind of athlete that Fort Dodge wrestling is built on,” said FDSH wrestling coach Bobby Thompson, who coached Miller. “He came to practice and earned his spot in the lineup. “He was the hometown kid who worked hard to get what he wanted.”
Thompson, who was born and raised in Fort Dodge as well while also coaching in Ames and Humboldt, came back to where his roots were and became established with that same homegrown mentality.
“He is a perfect example of all things Fort Dodge,” Thompson said. “He went to school at Fort Dodge, was in Dodger athletics, and gave it his all. He never complained, used what God gave him and took advantage of those opportunities.
“With coaching and now with administration, he touched a lot of kids. He showed them what being from Fort Dodge was all about.”
Visitation will be on Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Fort Dodge Middle School.
Services for Miller will be 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Fort Dodge Middle School with burial at North Lawn Cemetery.
Gunderson Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements.
People attending are asked to wear Dodger apparel in honor of Miller’s “Dodger Pride.”