Harold Louis Miller, age 100, passed away on August 2, 2021. A first-generation American and proud Jew, he was born in Chicago on March 28, 1921 to Louis and Minnie Miller. He volunteered in the Second World War, serving in Europe with the Army Air Corps and returned to Chicago to work in his piano store during the day and attend John Marshall Law School at night.
He married Beatrice Kraus on January 4, 1950 and the two went on to raise their family and serve as partners in a pioneering real estate business. Harold, along with Joseph Moss, did the first conversion of an apartment building into condominiums in the United States. In 1979, he purchased Carl Sandburg Village for $105 million and converted the complex into condominiums in three 30-day periods. As president of First Condominium, he converted numerous other apartment buildings and complexes into condominiums and cooperatives in the eastern part of the United States.
Charitable in every dimension, Harold looked for ways large and small to help others. He converted two of the largest bomb shelters in Jerusalem into community centers. He chaired the Illinois chapter of Save a Cambodian Child Now, and he put countless hours into helping Soviet Refuseniks settle into American life. He also made sure to offer small sums to anyone who asked, sometimes slowing down his companions as he stopped to talk to the hungry and homeless who recognized his generosity.
After a lengthy career in real estate, he was appointed as a Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, Department of Finance, where he introduced the first lectures on entrepreneurship and was eventually elected to the Chicago branch of the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame
He is survived by his three children, Judith Miller Schectman, Steven Miller, and Robert Miller. He has seven grandchildren, Joshua Schechtman, Laura Sher, Rebecca, David, Leah, Eric, Sam, and five great-grandchildren, Wyatt, Paige, Maverick, Mia, and Benjamin. The family is deeply grateful to Jpoy for almost a decade of devoted care.
Funeral services will be held at Beth Emet Synagogue, 1224 Dempster Street, Evanston on August 4th at 1 PM. Face masks are required at Beth Emit. Burial will be held at Memorial Park Cemetery, 9900 Gross Point Road, Skokie, Illinois immediately thereafter. A Shiva will be held following the burial at the home of Robert Miller located at 1564 Asbury Ave., Evanston, IL ending at 9 PM. A second Shiva will be held at Steven Miller's home on Thursday, August 5th beginning at 5:00 PM and ending at 9 PM. Steven's address is 911 Oak Drive, Glencoe, IL. Face masks are required at both Shivas for people who are not fully vaccinated.
Donations in the memory of Harold Miller can be sent to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
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