To Earl's family & friends, please feel free to add a Tribute/Condolence, 'Light' a memorial candle, just to say "Hi" or to let him know you're thinking of him. Contact me to make suggestions of pictures or stories to add to the site.  I want to add my heartfelt thanks from our daughter and I to those that have visited. 


The Autumn Wind is a pirate
Blustering in from sea
With a rollicking song he sweeps along
swaggering boisterously
His face is weather beaten
He wears a hooded sash
With his silver hat about his head
And a bristly black moustache
He growls as he storms the country
A villain big and bold
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake
As he robs them of their gold
The Autumn wind is a Raider
Pillaging just for fun
He'll knock you 'round and upside down
And laugh when he's conquered and won

This memorial website was created in the memory of  Earl Milligan Jr. who was born in Santa Rosa, California on January 14, 1969 and passed to the other side on June 02, 2005 at the age of 36.  Beloved father, husband, son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin & friend.  His smiles, laughter and Oakland Raiders t-shirts is how he'll always be remembered.  Anybody fortunate enough to have encountered him, befriended by him or loved by him will never forget him.  He will be remembered for his easy smile, infectious giggle & kind words.
Earl grew up in Santa Rosa. He was born to Earl Sr. and Shirley.  He was the youngest of his brothers and sisters, Helen, Duane, Eric, Donna & Teresa.  Because Earl was so much younger than his brothers and sisters, he was spoiled from get go and treasured by them so much.  They had many happy times together, camping, fishing and rough housing.  He also loved to tease his nieces Stacey and Sheri, because they were so close in age, he was like a big brother to them, rather than an uncle. Earl graduated from Piner High School in 1987.  He played football for the Prospectors in his sophmore year, but decided not to play for his junior year.  He wanted to get a job and playing football was something he couldn't do at the same time.
Earl & I met in May, 1985.  I was infatuated with him nearly from the beginning.  He had a girlfriend at the time, so we remained just friends.  We remained friends for 3 years.  Earl told me later that he knew he would fall for me if he dated me and he just wasn't ready for that when we first met. Our first date was on June 8, 1988.  We played pool next to Star Skate in Santa Rosa and then had coffee at Carrows afterward.  Earl & I were married on October 14, 1989.  We were so young and I don't think a lot of people thought we would make it.  Earl & I always knew we would. He was my best friend and my soulmate.
Our daughter Courtney was born February 1, 1990.  Earl was so proud of his little baby girl.  I remember he followed the nurse around to make sure they put the right name tag on the right baby, LOL.  Courtney & I were in awe of her father's wisdom.  She says he always had a solution or compromise for every problem she had.  We were both always blown away at how clever he was and he had enough common sense for all three of us put together. Courtney also got joy from the frequent hugs her dad would give her.  She got them whether she wanted them or not, for no reason at all or just to tell her in a silent way, "Way to go, Courtney." or, "Everything is going to be alright.", or, "How are you today, kiddo?".  She is 15 now and I know she will make her dad proud, no matter what she does.  Courtney is the apple of our eye.
Earl was proud to be a Native American.  He was a member of the Lytton Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians.  He is also Cherokee from his father's side.  He loved the traditions and ways of his people.  He wanted to learn more about the Pomo religion, but unfortunately, never got the chance.  His daughter is learning prayer songs and will be learning more about the Pomo religion.  She wants to learns these ways and help fulfill a legacy.
Like myself, Earl had a wonderful, warped, juvenile sense of humor.  We would make rude jokes to each other about bodily functions and make each other giggle.  We enjoyed watching South Park, Beavis & Butthead, Chapelle's Show, among many others together. He loved watching stand up comics.  We saw George Carlin in person at the Convention Center in Sacramento for my birthday a few years ago. He also enjoyed the comedy Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, George Lopez, Carlos Mencia, Dave Attel, Lewis Black, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Foxworthy, Ron White & Larry the Cable Guy.     
Earl was a football nut.  He has always loved the Oakland Raiders.  He loved the fact that the Raiders training camp, when they were in Oakland originally, was right in Santa Rosa where he lived.  They remained his team for the rest of his life.  When we could afford it, Earl & I would attend games when the Raiders came back to Oakland.  When we couldn't afford to go to games, we would drive up to Ukiah to watch games at a sports bar, because normally the home games were blacked out.  In 2001, Earl & I became season ticket holders.  We were thrilled that we could see our beloved Raiders for 8 Sundays during the fall (more, if we were lucky!).
Earl loved the outdoors. He was fortunate enough to find a job working outdoors.  He loved his job at the Mill Valley Golf Course.  He worked for the city for 15 years.  It is a beautiful golf course and he was proud of his job and looked forward going to work everyday. For the many of the years he worked at the golf course, Earl and his coworkers would golf after work, one day a week, when the weather permitted. He would golf with Chuck, Chris, Bobby, Raul & later on, Junni joined them.  Earl loved those outings and they all had fun together, just playing a friendly game of golf and shooting the breeze.  Earl also spent many hours  bass fishing out at Lake Sonoma with his dad, Earl Sr.  They would also go up to Siskiyou County every September and take Earl's mother along with them.  Earl and his dad would hunt deer, which is something else Earl loved to do.  He thought the country up there was simply breathtaking.  He & I had plans to possibly retire somewhere near there, so we could be a part of four seasons, rather than the basic two seasons we have here in Sonoma County.
Earl was also an animal lover.  We have a 94 lb. lab/hound mix named Kobe.  Every evening when Earl would come home, I would ask Kobe, "Where's Dad?!".  Kobe would run to the screen door and look for Earl to be dropped off and do a little dance until Earl got to the front door and came in.  Earl would put his keys and lunch box down and wrestle Kobe up for a little while.  Kobe really misses his sparring partner. We also have two cats, one of which chose Earl, we didn't choose him.  His name is Dudley.  We were at PetSmart in December of 1998.  We decided to look at some kittens that they were adopting out from the animal shelter.  When we walked past Dudley's cage, Dudley reached out, trying to grab Earl.  We asked to see Dudley and he just instantly snuggled up to Earl and slept in his beard.  It was an instant bond.
Earl & I bought our first home in July 1999.  Earl worked so hard during the week, the weekends were truly treasured by us.  The three of us would go to breakfast together, sometimes we'd see a movie or take the dog to the dog park.  Recently, Earl's hours had changed at work and he was able to take every other Friday off as well.  He spent those Fridays he had off with his dad, bass fishing out at Lake Sonoma.  He also enjoyed getting together with family on the weekends.  There were many birthdays and holidays spent together at different family member's homes.  He loved hanging out at Doran beach or Lawson's Landing when his mom & dad would camp out there in their RV.  We would pack the three of us and the dog into our Jeep and take a ride out to where they were camping.  We were both home bodies and loved to just sit in our hot tub and talk or just sit and watch TV together.  We didn't need to go out clubbing or partying to have fun.  Just staying in and renting a movie was fun to us.

Earl's funeral notice:

MILLIGAN, Earl Jr. Passed over to the other side on June 2, 2005, in a tragic accident at work in Mill Valley, CA. Earl is survived by his loving wife Amber and their daughter Courtney of Rohnert Park, CA. Earl is survived by his parents Shirley and Earl Sr. Santa Rosa. He is also survived by five siblings: Helen, Duane, Eric, Donna and Teresa. Earl will be greatly missed by numerous family and friends and those that he had touched by his kindness. A Celebration of his Life will be held at Finley Center Main Auditorium, 2060 West College Ave., Santa Rosa, CA, Saturday, June 11, 2005, at 11:00 a.m. A fund has been set up to help the family, contribu-tions can be sent to City of Mill Valley, 26 Corte Madera, Mill Valley, CA 94941. Assisting the family ABBY CHAPEL OF THE REDWOODS MORTUARY Rohnert Park 584-7100.
Published in the Press Democrat from 6/9/2005 - 6/10/2005