May 26, 1940 – November 3, 2017
Philip Stuart Miller passed away in San Marino on November 3, 2017, after a decade-long duel with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Phil was born in Pasadena on May 26, 1940, the son Maxwell Francis and Edna Brown (Hart) Miller.
Phil was a proud 1958 graduate of San Marino High School, and the University of Southern California (BA/JD 1967). He had a distinguished 37-year career with the Office of the Los Angeles County Counsel, where he earned membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates. Yet if asked to pen his own nametag, he was known to write “Phil Miller: amateur tennis player.”
A consummate athlete, Phil picked up any game he ran across and quite often bested opponents who were decades his junior (just ask his adult children). He was a student of any sport that caught his fancy. From Arthur Ashe to John Wooden, he studied the masters and dedicated his efforts to training to be the best and most technically proficient he possibly could. Chances are if you have a memory of Phil, it will likely have him suited up for a sport, if he wasn’t sporting a suit for a morning in court.
Phil was an Eagle Scout and was always prepared to help anyone. He was a thoughtful and impactful speaker, but a man of relatively few words who had a huge and generous heart. Along with his wife, he believed that social justice, freedom, and education were capable in any corner of our world. Following their missional drive, they funded scholarships to send numerous girls to high school in Malawi. Never one to seek recognition, he quietly provided a helping hand to the people nearest and dearest to him, as well as many people he would never meet.
A loving family man, Phil is survived by his wife of 52 years, Barbara May (Captain) Miller, daughter and son-in-law Cindy and Jaime Marian of Manhattan Beach, California, son and daughter-in-law Travis and Cindy (Van Dam) Miller of Rocklin, California, the ultimate joys of his life, his six grandchildren: Max, Paul and Evie Miller and Catalina, Alexandra and Cristian Marian, as well as his brother David Miller and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family is eternally grateful that his final years were made safe and comfortable through the care provided by his right-hand-men, Mark and Jefry.
Services will be held on Monday, November 20 at 11:00 a.m. at San Marino Community Church, 1750 Virginia Road, San Marino, California, 91108, with a reception immediately following in the church’s Fellowship Hall.
In lieu of floral tributes, the family asks for support of research dedicated to treatment and a cure for Parkinson disease and related conditions. To support this good work, donations can be made to: Team Parkinson, 6412 Broadway Ave., Whittier, CA 90606. Please note Phil’s name in the memo line.
We will miss you Phil, Dad, Papa/Grandpa, until the day we meet again, but are so much richer for all the time we walked, and played, on this earth with you. You have set a mighty fine example of how to live with courage, faith and abundant, unconditional love!
