Sarasota, Florida: On May 28, 2018, Melton M. Miller, Jr., passed away peacefully at Sarasota Memorial Hospital at the age of 84. He was the son of Melton M. Miller, Sr., and the former May Gauthier. Mel, as he was known, was born on November 15, 1933, in Burlington, Vermont.
He attended Burlington High School, where he met the love of his life, Dorothy Moody. The two attended the University of Vermont. They married in 1954 while in college and started a family. In 1955, Mel and Dorothy moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, where he did graduate study in civil engineering at Purdue University. His Ph.D. was awarded in 1964, shortly after he joined the College of Engineering faculty at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He remained at the University until his retirement in 1996, primarily as a faculty member and administrator in the Department of Civil Engineering, with a few years spent as Master Director of the Southwest Residential Area.
As a professor, he was highly respected for his dedication to teaching and mentoring students. He participated in programs to encourage minority students with an interest in engineering, and to assist community college students to make a transition to the University. His professional fascination with bridges was well known and continued into retirement as a topic for occasional community presentations. Later in life, during a family visit to Scotland, he was thrilled to visit the Forth Bridge for the first time, after years of “teaching” the bridge. He greatly admired Boston’s Zakim Bridge.
Along with Dorothy, Mel was active for many years with the First Congregational Church in Amherst. He served at different times as Moderator and Treasurer, designed the Church’s first handicapped access ramp, and is particularly remembered for his Christmas Eve Service readings to children of congregation. He was also involved with Kiwanis.
Mel had a lifelong love of music and theater. He played the drums in a small jazz band in high school and college, and surprised his parents with a high school performance, acting in Christopher Fry’s “A Sleep of Prisoners.” He sang in church choirs until nearly the end of his life and participated in the Amherst First Church’s “Merry Musical.” He is especially remembered for his and Dorothy’s long involvement with Valley Light Opera, where he acted as “Producer, Engineer, Musician, Treasurer, and Lord High Everything Else,” according to a Certificate of Appreciation awarded him by VLO.
Later in their careers, Mel and Dorothy began regular summer travels, across the country and in Europe. It was during one of these trips that they met new friends who helped them select a retirement destination. The two retired in 1996 and moved to the Forest Pines neighborhood of Sarasota, Florida. There, he was active in the Forest Pines Association and the First Congregational United Church of Christ of Sarasota. He was very proud of the Church’s music program, and of course sang in the choir. He made deliveries for Meals on Wheels and enjoyed concerts by the Sarasota Orchestra.
Melton Miller was loved as a thoughtful, generous, gracious man with a fine sense of humor. He inspired generations of future engineers and earned the deep regard of many students. The dedication to classical music and theater which he shared with his wife had a profound influence on the lives and personal development of his sons. He was predeceased by his wife in 2011. He leaves four sons, with their wives and partners: David (Jane Wiley), Paul (Catherine Baker), Daniel (Sharon Britt), and Mark (Elizabeth MacDuffie); his grandson Sebastian; his brother, the Rev. Lyle Miller Sr. (Rachel); his sister, Patricia Annable; his sister-in-law, Marilyn Hurlbut (Wayne); and many loving nieces and nephews. Memorial services in Florida and Massachusetts are planned for Autumn 2018. If desired, contributions may be made in his memory to charities that were important to him: the National Multiple Sclerosis Society or Habitat for Humanity.
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