PLEASANTON, Calif. Warren Miller, a pioneering California bus operator and founding member of the United Bus Owners of America, now UMA, and the Northern California Bus Association, now the California Bus Association, died last month. He was 87.

Mr. Miller had served on the board of UBOA/UMA as an active or honorary member for all of the organizations 37 years, seldom missing a meeting, whether it was in upstate New York or in nearby Nevada during a Motorcoach Expo in Las Vegas.

During World War II, Mr. Miller served in the Army in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, guarding rail tunnels for supply and troop movements. He continued his service after the war, retiring from the reserves after 40 years.

Following the war, Mr. Miller and partners Bill Billings, Arthur Loyd and Brian Thompson founded Sequoia Stages Lines, which later became Eastshore Lines, providing transportation for returning GIs from dormitory housing in Richmond, Calif., to the University of California, Berkeley.

This early company developed into one of the dominant charter companies in the San Francisco Bay Area until the mid-1980s.

Over the years, Mr. Miller acquired and operated several companies, including Falcon Charter Service, Amtravel, Amtravel-International, and Green Belt Stage Lines.

While Mr. Miller was a bus guy through and through, he also enjoyed a love affair with trains. He rode many of the unique railroad lines of the world.

His last affiliation in the coach business was with Pacific Coast Bus Service of San Francisco, a company owned by his long-time friend Mike Waters, the vice president/general manager of Franciscan Lines, a Coach America company.

"The industry has lost one of its early fathers," said Waters.

"Warren was a very special guy," noted Victor Parra, president and CEO of UMA. "He never let us forget why UMA was created. He was an anchor to the basic foundation of this association. I know hell be watching over every board meeting, making sure we remain true to our roots."

Wayne J. Smith, the founding executive director of UBOA/UMA, said Mr. Miller "always was interested in governmental affairs as it affected the small bus operator. ... You just cant say enough about the service Warren Miller provided to the bus industry over the years."

Norm Littler, vice president for regulatory and industry affairs at the American Bus Association, said Mr. Miller "was a wonderful person and personified what the heart and soul of the industry should be."

Tom Ready of Ready Bus Line in LaCrescent, Minn., and vice chairman of UMA, said Mr. Miller had been "a great mentor" to him.

"I was the youngest person ever appointed on the UMA board. I first met him at the board meeting in Dallas in 1990. He was very generous with his information about his experiences in the early days of the bus industry. It was helpful to me. ... He had a great love for UMA and our industry. He was clearly a leader . . . and will be missed in our industry."

Few knew Mr. Miller longer than Alex Allen, the retired head of Amador Stages Lines in Sacramento, Calif. "Warren Miller and I go back nearly 50 years, to the early days of the California Bus Association," said Allen.

"Warren had a passion for and worked throughout his life for the improvement of the bus industry. The industry has lost another pioneer while Rachel and I have lost a friend," said Allen.

Mr. Miller was a founding director of Trans Pacific National Bank in San Francisco, and a long-time member of SKAL International San Francisco, a worldwide association of travel and tourism professionals, and the San Francisco Olympic Club.

A bachelor most of his life, Mr. Miller waited until he was 50 before marrying. His wife, Jan, died in the early 1990s. He was buried next to her, following a military service at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, Calif.