David John Miller, United States Marine, husband, father, little league coach and lover of dumb animals, died Oct. 23, 2015.
He was born July 9, 1934, to John and Ruth Miller. “Dave” was raised in rural Inkster, Michigan along with his two brothers and sister.
A lifelong enthusiast of all things sports, he excelled in track and field and was a champion sprinter at Romulus High School where, upon graduation, he took his love of sports and adventure, along with a passion to serve his country, and joined the U.S. Marine Corps. Achieving the rank of sergeant, he left the Corps in 1956 to begin his career with United Airlines. After 37 years of service he retired in 1996.
He was active all his life in the lives of his three sons, Eric, Brian and Les, and handed down his enthusiasm for sports by spending countless hours coaching each of them on the fine points of tackling, casting and “getting in front of” a hard-hit grounder. Especially gifted as a fishing guide/instructor, he excelled at disentangling several lines at once, with a bare minimum of cursing, and succeeded instilling a lifelong passion for the outdoors in his sons.
He is survived by his ex-wife, Doreen; sons, Eric, Brian and Les; daughter-in-law, Christine; grandchildren, Kasey, Jenna, Joshua, Colton, Emma and Harper; great-grandchildren, Kaden and Cason; brothers, Dan (Rita) and John (Ilene); and sister, Linda.
A service will be held Nov. 6 at the Florida National Cemetery, 6505 S.W. 102nd Ave., Bushnell, Florida. The family asks that no flowers be sent. Instead, memorial contributions can be made to Lifepathhospice.chaptershealth.org/GeneralDonation.