Reo Dwain Miller II

Reo D. Miller II passed away on March 23rd, 2023 after a sudden, brief illness. He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Debbie; 7 children from blended families, Reo Miller III, Dave Miller, Sheri Miller, Robert Miller, Kim Trost, Julia Miller, Jason Meyers, many grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents Reo I, Roberta Miller, sister Jerry (Miller) Buskirk and grandson Josh Miller.

Our family will be holding a memorial for Reo on June 4th at 2 pm at the Laingsburg Legion Hall 1240 W Grand River Laingsburg Mi. Please join us in remembrance and support of the family.

Some words about our Dad, Reo Miller II. Some knew you as Ringo, some knew you as your pseudonym "Pete" I knew you as Dad.

In this life you had many roles. You proudly served in the Navy as a Sea Bee, and often told stories about your time overseas. From an early age, starting in 1963 under UAW 652, you worked in Tool and Die at Oldsmobile, he retired from Olds in July 2002.

For years I didn't know what my Dad did at his job. I knew he was a "toolmaker" and I thought it was something like an elf in Santa's workshop. You'd regularly bring home odd gadgets and puzzle games that you had made on your down time.

Some of my favorite memories of you are of family camping trips, or of just me and you time, walking in the woods, listening for critters, the creek flowing and you just telling me some of your views on life. You loved mushroom hunting and just being out enjoying nature, cars, motorcycles, races, boxing, western movies, and music of many genres. But mostly we'd sit together listening to old country and blues, doowop or rockabilly.

We didn't always see things the same way. We both had issues, and bullheadedness that stood in the way. Maybe because we're both Leos. I often couldn't see past your stubborn old man views and it took me a long time to accept you, faults and all. I lost a lot of time that could have been spent getting to know you as a person and a friend. It took a while to realize how very similar we are to each other.

I'm glad that I finally did. You taught me so much.

You taught me about the stars, the planets, the moon, eclipses.. (Daddy magic that can make the moon disappear).

About music, guitar virtuosos, rock, blues, and country. I'll miss the songs you posted daily.

When I was a kid and a picky eater. You made sure I ate my veggies, and pretty much let me know that whatever I didn't eat for dinner was probably going to be served as breakfast the next day as a burrito or an omelette.

To this day I still make pizza omelettes.

You've come to my rescue many a time just by messaging me to say "We should get tacos". Some Daddy Daughter time at the taco cart was usually just what I needed..

You tried to teach me math. Sorry that one didn't work out so great.

In my life I've had many struggles, and you have almost always had the right pearl of wisdom to say to put things in perspective and make it seem ok. I wish I had taken the time to write more of them down. You probably don't realize how many times you have kept me safe and pulled me out of some dark times. But that's what good dads do.

In one of our last real conversations you said that you had had a good life, you had a lot of fun, you've done everything that you wanted to do, that you had some good kids and grandkids, and that you were ready. I guess that's all most of us can hope for. I wasn't ready, no one ever really is. I wish I could have had more time. I'm thankful for the time we had together. I love you, thank you for being my Dad, and my friend.