Michael James Miller Jr.

Michael was born on August 24, 1977, in Columbus, Ohio. His family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he attended Father Ryan High School. After a rocky start to college, he found his footing at Notre Dame Seminary and Loyola University New Orleans, graduating with a degree in Philosophy and Catholic Studies.

Michael met his wife, Sarah Ruddy, at the Ignatius Chapel at Loyola University, where they were both involved with music ministry. They married in 2002 at St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church in St. Louis.

Early in his career, Michael taught theology at Holy Cross School in New Orleans and Marquette High School in Alton, Illinois. He was Youth Minister at Immacolata Catholic Parish in St. Louis.

He earned a Master’s degree in Theology from Aquinas Institute of Theology, graduating in 2008. He would tell you that a case of mistaken identity at this time led to his career in Catholic Healthcare Mission Leadership. He worked for Trinity Health at hospitals in South Bend, Indiana, Muskegon, Michigan, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. He then returned to St. Louis in 2018 to be System Vice President of Mission and Ethics at SSM Health. Along the way, he earned two additional degrees from Loyola University Chicago: a Master’s in Bioethics and Health Policy and a Doctorate in Healthcare Mission Leadership. His academic work focused on the ethics of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

Michael’s favorite job and greatest joy was being Ella’s dad. With her birth in 2011, he finally had an audience for his lifelong habit of telling dad jokes. He was delighted that, at a very young age, Ella developed a “courtesy laugh” and an impressive eye roll. Ella sees a lot of her dad in herself. His legacy lives on in her authentic and intentional kindness and her passion for social justice.

Michael had to give up many of the things he loved to make time for cancer treatment during the last year of his life. But, ever mindful of the common good, he was honored to have been part of a clinical trial at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He hoped that his involvement would contribute to their mission of eliminating cancer.

Some of Michael’s favorite things were banana pudding, playing the guitar and mandolin, traveling to Assisi on pilgrimage, crawfish, wave pools, the Sunday print edition of the New York Times, the Tennessee River, the movie Rushmore, his friends’ children, amaro, homegrown tomatoes, and thoughtful liturgy. Michael’s family and friends will remember him as a calm, steady presence, always willing to engage in conversations about anything, always looking for ways to be helpful, and always with a pun or joke on the tip of his tongue. Michael described himself as like an Old Farmer’s Almanac: “Useful, with a pleasant degree of humor.”

Michael is survived by his wife, Sarah Ruddy, and their daughter, Ella Miller-Ruddy; his mother, Judith Miller of Birchwood, Tennessee; his siblings Kate and Cody Robinson, Tom and Brittany Miller, and Betsy and Thomas Knox; his in-laws, T. Michael and Eileen Ruddy, Josh Ruddy and Jenn Kelley, Noah Ruddy and Emilee Murphree; ten nieces and nephews, five godchildren, countless friends that he considered family, and his dog, Ducky. Michael was preceded in death by his father, Michael James Miller, Sr.

We will gather to remember Michael on Monday, May 11, 5:00-7:00pm in the St. Margaret of Scotland Church Hall, 3964 Flad Avenue 63110. A Funeral Mass will take place on Tuesday, May 12 at 10:00am at St. Margaret of Scotland Church, followed by burial at Resurrection Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Aquinas Institute of Theology. www.ai.edu