“It’s definitely been a challenge,” Steven Milliner said. “You never realize how loved you are until something like this happens.”
NEW ALBANY, Ind. — What was a seemingly normal Tuesday afternoon for Steven Milliner quickly turned into the surprise of a lifetime.
Milliner pulled into the parking lot of Floyd Central High School and saw her three children and grandchildren waiting next to a long white trailer.
Someone opened the trailer and revealed a rare 1969 Chevrolet Nova Yenko.
“I can’t believe it!” Milliner exclaimed, hugging her daughter Shelley.
Milliner last saw the car in 1978, when he and his two brothers found it parked on a cattle ranch in Indiana and restored it. The brothers eventually sold it.
“I had no idea what became of it, who owned it or anything like that,” he said.
The car ended up in the hands of Dennis Albaugh, an American billionaire businessman who lives in Iowa.
One of Milliner’s daughters, Shelley, found an article online that said Albaugh owned the exact same car her father remembered for decades, a discovery that led the 1969 Chevrolet to make the 600-mile journey to Floyd County.
“I’m a very blessed person, trust me,” Milliner said. “About a year ago, things were looking pretty tough.”
Milliner was diagnosed with terminal cancer last April.
“We were celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary and I was getting ready to shave. We were going to the Country Music Museum. As I was getting ready to shave, I reached all over my body to grab the razor and felt a sharp pain in my ribs,” he said.
The surprise allowed Milliner to take his wife of 50 years out for a drive in the car he loved from his youth.
“She’s the one to rely on,” he says. “I owe it to her to be here today. I owe it to her to be who I am.”
As he looked around the parking lot, Milliner’s eyes welled up with tears as he spoke of his love and gratitude for his family.
“God has always supported me,” he says, “You never find a cancer that you’ve never had before unless God lets you know otherwise. That’s my story and here I am. I’m so blessed… I’m so blessed.”
Throughout his treatment, Milliner has continued to coach football, starting with coaching his own children growing up and then coaching all of his grandchildren, he said with pride in his eyes.
“I’m a very blessed man, believe me,” he said.
Milliner circled the parking lot in the car that was found at the cattle ranch, then pulled out his cell phone and showed a photo of an orange 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8.
“I ended up getting my dream car,” he said.
Milliner bought his dream car two years ago and in 2024 he’ll be able to drive the car that may have started it all.
“This has definitely been a test,” he said. “You never know how loved you are until something like this happens.”
