Robert (Bob) C. Miller, retired science teacher and popular local musician, passed away at his home Friday, October 20, 2022, after a brief illness. Bob was 89 years old.
Bob Miller was born September 28, 1933 and grew up in the southeast Michigan town of Hudson. He graduated from the local high school and joined the Navy in 1951. Bob served aboard the U.S.S. Helena during the Korean War and was honorably discharged in 1954. He returned home and enrolled in Adrian College where he earned a Bachelor’s degree and his teaching certificate. Bob would eventually earn a Master’s degree in Biology from the University of Michigan. Bob’s first teaching assignment came in 1959 when he was hired by the Britton-Macon school district. His classroom happened to be next door to another new teacher, Nancy Pippitt from Mendon, MI. Bob and Nancy were married June 02, 1963 in Sturgis, MI.
Bob’s dream of someday living in northern Michigan was fulfilled in 1964 when he and Nancy both found teaching jobs at Mio AuSable Schools. Bob was hired as the high school science teacher and Nancy as the guidance counselor, and over the next 25 years their dedication and effectiveness would earn them the love and respect of students, faculty, and community alike. And it was during these years they adopted their daughters Dori and Edith, remodeled one home and then built another, made many close friends, and became deeply established in both the school and community. Bob and Nancy retired from Mio AuSable Schools in 1989 but remained in the Mio community for the rest of their lives.
Bob was preceded in death by Nancy, his beloved wife of 59 years, who passed away this past March. Also preceding Bob in death are daughter Edith K. Richards and granddaughter Christy Carr. Bob is survived by his daughter Dori A. Taylor, by grandsons Todd and Billy Taylor and Devon and Derrik Smith, great grandson Even Smith, and by sister-in-law Jane Campbell and her children.
Bob Miller was a man of extraordinary talents, a jack-of-all-trades and master of many, a gifted and hilarious storyteller, a songwriter, musician, and craftsman, a renaissance man in the truest sense. When he needed an addition on his house, he read a book about building and then built it. When he wanted a new house, he built that too, and started building furniture and musical instruments as well. Meanwhile, he read a book about sailing, bought a sailboat, and became a skilled yachtsman. He was a ham radio operator, a “genius” at Morse code, a woodcarver, outdoor enthusiast, and gardener; but most of all, Bob was a gifted and self-taught musician who could play any instrument he laid his hands on – guitar, banjo, fiddle, penny whistle, ukulele, piano, etc. He played in many bands but is probably remembered best as the leader of the Posey Lake Academy String Band and it’s associated “Academy of Musicology”, his tongue-in-cheek society of fellow musicians, fans and friends. And for those of us lucky enough to have known him, Bob was, is, and will remain a legend, an unforgettable figure that will live on in our hearts and minds, and in our music.
In accordance with Bob’s wishes, cremation has taken place. Interment of ashes will be at The Kittle Cemetery, Mio at a later date.
Arrangements by Lashley Funeral Home, Mio, MI.
