J. Bart Miller

Bart was born in November of 1947 in Pittsburgh, PA, and was the eldest child of John William and Lou VaLane “Sammy” Miller. As a young boy, he was diagnosed with poliomyelitis and received treatment at the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute. This early trial instilled a grit and determination to persevere and achieve which was evident throughout his life.

As a young man, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout which set him on a path to follow his father as a lifelong scouter in service to Atlanta’s youth. In addition to being Scoutmaster of Troop 232 of Northwest Presbyterian Church twice, he served as Camp Chief of Wood Badge Training and was awarded the Silver Beaver Award for distinguished service. Throughout his life, he subscribed to and exhibited the wisdom passed down in Baden Powell’s farewell message to scouts in which he said, “But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best.”

A graduate of the Baylor School in Chattanooga where he played football, wrestled, sang in the Glee Club, and was an officer of the drum and bugle corps, he remained active with the school receiving its Distinguished Service Award and its Distinguished Alumni Award. He went on to study at the University of Georgia and then Georgia State University where he served as an officer of the ΕΩ Chapter of the ΚΣ Fraternity. He earned both a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Health Administration from the Robinson College of Business. He subsequently was a part-time faculty member of the Institute of Health Administration and until his passing served on the Board of Visitors of The Honors College at GSU. He received the Professional Achievement Award from the Institute of Health Administration and was inducted into the GSU Risk Management Foundation Hall of Fame.

He would meet his future wife, Carol while attending GSU. They married after graduation and settled in Sandy Springs. Bart was a devoted husband for more than 50 years and would often say that “he married up” in speaking of Carol. By Carol’s side, Bart raised three children, and together were their 7 grandchildren’s biggest cheerleaders. Rare was the time when Bart missed a performance, sporting event, or other life events involving his grandchildren even in his infirmity.

With deep Atlanta roots, Bart had the good fortune of being assigned a graduate residency at Northside Hospital where he served for sixteen years ending his career there as Vice President. His second career as an insurance broker began at Johnson & Bryan where he was a Principal before founding what is now Sterling Seacrest Pritchard, Georgia’s largest privately held insurance brokerage firm and a Top 100 firm in the U.S.

Bart had a servant’s heart for civic leadership. He served on the Board of Trustees of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School and until his passing served on its Board of Advisors. He received the school’s Distinguished Service Award and was named to the Athletic Wall of Fame for being instrumental in elevating HIES’s extracurricular activities including the establishment of a football program. He served on the Board of Trustees of Skyland Trail a non-profit mental health treatment organization for 11 years. He was a member of University Yacht Club on Lake Lanier where he held several positions including Fleet Captain Sail and Club Commodore.

An Episcopalian, he was an active parish member of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church.

He is survived by his wife Carol; son John Miller (Mary); daughter Elizabeth Miller Tucker (Scott); son Bartley Miller (Allyson); 7 grandchildren (to whom he was fondly known as “Pappy”) Will, Price, Caroline, Mary Hilton, John, Harrison and Reagan; sister Cindy Alexander (Alec); and brother Sam Miller (Kathy).

He will be laid to rest at Arlington Memorial Park. A celebration of life service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, November 1, 2021, at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church (805 Mount Vernon Hwy) with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in memory of J. Bart Miller to one of the below organizations that Bart passionately supported during his life:

Boy Scout Troop 232 (via PayPal at [email protected] or via check to Troop232, c/o NWPC, 4300 Northside Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30327);

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church (via www.holyinnocents.org/giving);

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School (via www.hies.org/giving);

Baylor School (via www.baylorschool.org/support-baylor);

Marist School (via www.marist.com/giving/make-a-gift).