Richard J. Miller

Richard J. "Dick" Miller, age 87, died peacefully with his daughter at his side at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois on May 27, 2014. Dick was born on April 21, 1927 in Hamtramck, Michigan, the son of John "Jan" and Janina Miller (Gontarczyck). He graduated from Hamtramck High School in 1945 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Fine Art from Wayne State University. He served his country in the United States Army in Europe, working as a butcher, a weather forecaster and in military intelligence, transporting captured high ranking enemy officers. Dick worked for 38 years for General Motors Corporation as an Illustrative Engineer. He was a supervisor for many years but took great pride by titling himself "the Art Director of the Department". He worked with a team effort to make everyone's retirement cards, considering them his most important projects. He was a boss, a mentor and a friend to many of his employees. He motivated them by encouraging them with the philosophy, "while it is not always possible to be the best, it is always possible to improve your performance". When it came to his perfectionist tendencies, there was little fault anyone could find with his penmanship. It was extraordinary and beautiful. Much pleasure was derived from his spirited lunchroom debates with his co-workers, who were more than just that to himthey were his dear and life long friends. If you knew Dick, you knew that he loved little more and his eyes would get fiery for fewer things than a hot political debate. The spirit of his rebel Polish father lived on in him. He was a fierce and feisty Democrat and supported his party financially and by rarely missing a CNN newscast. He also rarely missed an opportunity to tell someone they were wrong by not being a Democrat. He had a great sense of fairness and decency and longed to see a world where all men and women and people of all races were treated equally. Dick was a man of many interests and hobbies. In exacting them, he was a perfectionist. His daughter fondly remembers her father spending many hours meticulously making perfect replicas of miniature sleds, tables and chairs, ladders and other sweet household items for the special dollhouse retrieved from North Conway, New Hampshire on a family vacation. He also spent many hours carefully framing the artwork he collected, while occasionally consuming a few beverages in his namesake. He also loved to travel and many hours were spent over the years watching slides of the Parthenon and other epic world sights on the large living room shade at night, usually after parties. Gardening, building a rock garden and playing with his flowers in the front and back yards were a favorite of Dick's in the summertime, with the voice of Ernie Harwell booming from the black radio he would move with him from spot to spot in the backyard. When he worked in the backyard, he made friends of the squirrels and continued that practice throughout his life, naming his last "tamed" squirrel who would take nuts from his hand "Little One". He was a fan of the symphony, as well, and often interspersed his baseball games with belting out a good rhapsody. He was a really good tomato and cucumber grower, too. He loved collecting etchings and made going out east to collect them a favorite fall pastime. He carried on that tradition of going out east every fall, taking his daughter out of school to look at the fall foliage, visiting antique shops and finding good old tombstones to rub, into his early retirement years. In his travels, and even locally, he loved to take photographs of the simple beauty of landscapes, uncluttered by people, When he was home, he enjoyed going to the art institute, taking a class (like tintyping or making tin lamps from the 1800's) at Greenfield Village or enjoying dinner and his season opera tickets with his close sister-in-law, Dorothy. When he was at "rest", he stained and assembled beautiful furniture that he used to decorate his home(s). Dick was also never one to miss Crossfire and always had CNN blasting in the background. He also enjoyed just milling about the neighborhood and chatting with his neighbors. Most of all, Dick loved his family. He had a beloved and exuberant sister, Halina, whom he would talk to for long sessions on the phone. He had a fun and effervescent brother named Cass, a dignified and fun loving school principal, who enjoyed many of his same interests, and an intelligent and inquiring older brother, Ted, whom he loved spending time with. He had many nieces and nephews, who were the sons he never had and he even called his grandson, Alex, "Mike" every once in a while. He was also married for 15 years to Jo Ann "Josie" (Lipinski) Miller and they built a home in Grosse Pointe together. After she passed away, he maintained a friendship with Jo Ann's sister, Patricia (Patsy), catching an occasional dinner. He had three loving grandchildren who loved to visit and wrestle with him. He enjoyed watching his oldest granddaughter, Katherine, for whom he made a beautiful wood cradle, grow into grace and beauty and hearing about her basketball exploits. His grandson, Alex, who inherited Dick's curls from his youth, as well as his green eyes, would always make an effort to raise his voice to high volume and make conversations with his "Papa', telling him about his school projects and sports. It was done with such frequency that Dick loved to ask Alex if he ever stopped talking. Often he could be found just taking in his youngest granddaughter, Ellie, amused with the obvious pleasure she would have just from eating her dish of ice cream. While she was often told that she was "the apple of his eye", in truth, he was that to his only child, Janna. He led her to so many things in life and taught her so many intentional lessons she did not even realize he intended until she was older. He insured that she had a good home and a good education, things that were important to him, and had a hard time saying no to her for an "occasional" fashion splurge on a dress. She will miss him more than he could ever imagine. She will mostly miss his tender voice and their daily conversations. It is hard to say goodbye to someone who has always been your rock. Dick is survived by his daughter, Janna Marie Miller Midura and her husband Thomas of Chicago, IL; his three grandchildren, Katherine, Alexander and Elizabeth; his brother Thaddeus Miller (Dolores), his sister, Halina Bielaniec; his sister-in-law, Dorothy Miller; and nieces and nephews: Michael Bielaniec, Stephen Bielaniec, Michelle Miller, Carl Miller, Lisa Kocis, and Kristin Miller. He was predeceased by his parents, his brother Casmer "Cass" Miller, his brother-in-law, Harry Bielaniec; his nephew, Paul Miller; and his former wife, Josephine "Jo Ann" Miller (nee Lipinski). Visitation for Mr. Miller is scheduled from 2:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 8, 2014 at the A. H. Peters Funeral Home, 20705 Mack Avenue at Vernier Road in Grosse Pointe Woods. The Holy Rosary will be recited at 7:00 o'clock Sunday evening. His body will lie instate at St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church, 157 Lakeshore Drive, Grosse Pointe Farms from 9:30 a.m. Monday until the funeral mass begins at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit. The family has suggested memorial contributions be made by US Mail to the Democratic National Committee, 430 S. Capitol Street SE; Washington, D.C. 20003 c/o Rosalind Chatman or by phone at 877-336-7200.

Funeral Home:

A. H. Peters Funeral Home of Grosse Pointe

20705 Mack Avenue

Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

US 48236