Richard Charles Miller passed away on August 7, 2018 at the age of 88. He was born November 6, 1929 in Hartford, Connecticut to Charles and Mae Sando Miller and graduated from Kingswood Oxford School in 1947. He earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard College in 1951 and a doctorate of medicine from Harvard Medical School in 1955. He completed his surgical training and residency at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.
It was at Case Western that Richard met Suzanne Thorne, a fellow house officer. They were married within a year and enjoyed 56 years together. In 1969, the Millers moved to Mississippi and began work at University Hospital in Jackson. Dr. Miller was the first surgeon in Mississippi specializing in pediatrics.
Dr. Miller served the University of Mississippi Medical Center for 43 years, caring for infants and children, training new physicians and holding multiple administrative roles, including interim Chairs of the Anesthesiology and Surgery Departments, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, and Medical Director of University Hospital. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Millsaps College in 2011, and the Richard C. Miller Pediatric Surgery Chair at UMMC was named in his honor in 2017.
Dr. Miller was a captain in the United States Air Force at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri from 1957 to 1959. He also served executive roles at the Mississippi Federal Credit Union and was on the board of the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System. He attended Fondren Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Miller is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Paul Miller. He is survived by his sister Alice Englert and by his wife Suzanne and their children: Sara (Robert) Rasmussen, Joanna (William) Storey, Cardy (Kristen) Miller and Robert (Jennifer) Miller as well as 12 grandchildren: Jax, Jace, and Fritz Rasmussen, Ian, Andrew, Neil, Robin and Graham Storey, Nilah and Ricky Miller, and DeDe and Macy Miller.
Visitation will be at Fondren Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi on Friday, August 10 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and on Saturday, August 11 from 1:30 to 2:30 pm. Services will follow at 2:30 p.m.
The family requests that memorials be made to Friends of Children’s Hospital (www.foch.org).
