Greensburg couple honored with Master Gardener Emeritus status

Larry and Sonnie Miller of Greensburg are the first husband and wife team to join the ranks of Master Gardener Emeriti with the Penn State Master Garden Program of Westmoreland County.

Master Gardener Emeritus status recognizes distinguished service of at least 1,500 volunteer hours and 10 or more years of service.

The Millers far exceed those requirements. They have a combined 31 years of service and nearly 4,000 volunteer hours.

But stepping away from Master Gardener service doesn’t mean the couple, both 78, are putting away their gardening tools.

Larry is co-chair of the Latrobe community garden program, sponsored by the Latrobe Foundation, which maintains more than 60 garden beds and numerous container gardens throughout the city. Sonnie works alongside him on a team of about 35 volunteers.

“That in itself is a pretty big job,” Sonnie said.

They also maintain a vegetable garden and extensive landscaping in their 1-acre yard in Greensburg’s Maplewood Terrace section. A koi pond with a waterfall is nestled amid perennials, rhododendra, Japanese maple, dogwood, conifers and a magnolia tree.

Larry grew up in Slickville and Sonnie grew up in New Alexandria at a time when most families — including theirs — grew their own vegetables.

“That was a way of life back then,” Sonnie said. “Everybody had a garden. I like to say my dad was the original food bank, because he grew bushels of the stuff and gave a lot of it away.

“Larry’s mother had beautiful flower gardens. She grew gladiolas. My mother had some flowers, but my dad thought, if you can’t eat it, it’s not worth growing.

Gardening together

The couple met on a blind date arranged by Sonnie’s co-worker, who was Larry’s sister-in-law.

“She said, ‘You’ll like him. He’s a nice kid,’ ” Sonnie said. “Our fathers actually worked in the same mine. They knew each other well.”

The couple started gardening together as soon as they settled into their first home.

“We always grew more than we could handle, so we’d take bushels of beans to the neighbors. They thought they were the best thing,” Sonnie said.

It’s a practice they have continued through the years. They taught their young neighbor boys how to dig potatoes and, although Sonnie doesn’t like kale, she grows it for another neighbor.

Sonnie worked in financial services and was a partner with Carol Love in planning group tours. She was encouraged to become a Master Gardener by Dr. John Parker, another Master Gardener Emeritus, whom she met while working as financial secretary for Latrobe Presbyterian Church.

“She graduated in the Class of 2000 and was immediately tapped to work with other classmates in creating a new garden design for the entrance of Westmoreland Manor to commemorate their sesquicentennial anniversary,” said Mandy L. Smith, coordinator for Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Westmoreland County. “They did such a good job designing the project, choosing plants and teaching volunteers to plant and maintain the garden that they were asked back in subsequent years to design a new side garden and a courtyard.

“While Larry had helped in the gardens ever since Sonnie joined, he officially became a Master Gardener with the Class of 2009 after retiring as a truck driver with Scott Electric. With a truckload of tools, Larry became known as the ‘fix-it man’ and wouldn’t hesitate to take on a new project when asked. His trademark answer was always an upbeat, ‘OK.’ ”

Sonnie and Larry were regular workers in the Master Gardeners’ Demonstration Garden at the Donohoe Center near Greensburg, where they focused on the Old-Fashioned/Cottage Garden and the shade garden. She also planned the group’s annual overnight bus trips to renowned gardens across the country.

Larry worked in the vegetable garden, compost area and water system and pitched in with mowing, weed trimming and digging. Five years ago, he helped design community gardens in Slickville.

The Millers are looking forward to their 60th wedding anniversary in January. They have plans to add an additional deck at their home and to rework a few of their garden beds.

In their garage, there’s a 1960 El Camino that Larry plans to restore.

Avid travelers, they intend to visit Utah’s Canyonlands when pandemic restrictions let up.

“We really like Utah.” Sonnie said. “We love to go west. We’ve been out there several times. It’s such a peaceful area, and the scenery is so magnificent.”