Reed Edward Miller

MILLER, Reed Edward, MD 12/4/1935 - 4/10/2017 Reed Edward Miller, MD passed away peacefully at his home in Tracy, CA, succumbing to cancer on April 10, 2017. Reed was born in Milwaukee, WI to Karl and Gladys Miller, both natives of the upper midwest. Following several moves, the family became Californians, first settling in Los Angeles in 1947. There he attended junior high school where he met his future wife Sylvia Klasson. Also there he began playing the French horn and began to love classical music, both passions of his for the rest of his life. In 1950 he moved to San Mateo, where he met his first wife Helen Thorvald; they were married in 1958. He graduated from San Mateo High School in 1953 and spent the next 4 years at UC Berkeley, earning election to Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year. Following graduation from UCSF Medical School in 1960, he began a four-year stint as intern and medical resident at Santa Clara County Hospital in San Jose. Then, following honorable discharge from service spent in Germany to the US Army, he and his young family moved to the San Ramon Valley in 1966, where they lived for many years. Professionally, Reed practiced internal medicine for the Hayward Medical Group, which, during the time of his practice, expanded and changed its name to the Bay Valley Medical Group; Reed was one of the group's first physicians. To his patients, he was an excellent caregiver; to his colleagues, he was a dedicated, contributing peer, colleague, and friend. He served as the first Chief of Medical Staff of the San Ramon Regional Medical Center, and he chaired the regional ACCMA Credentials Board for the last fourteen years of his practice. He retired in 2001. Reed was a loving and devoted husband—first to Helen, who died in 1974, and then Sylvia, whom he married in 1975 and who survives him. His three sons (Mark, Scott, and John) and one step-son (Gordon) reside in and around the Bay Area with their families. Reed and Helen also had a daughter, Helen Ann, who passed away in early infancy. Personally, Reed was known for both his remarkable, expansive intelligence and his ready, warm laughter. He became a truly accomplished musician, having studied piano, classical guitar, and voice in addition to the French horn; in his younger years, he played for several regional school, college, and community orchestras. He was a great lover of wilderness beauty; camping trips with his sons and grandsons were highlights of his later life. He was, at various times in his life, an enthusiastic photographer, bicyclist, crossword solver, diarist, and hobbyist. Most of all, he was a rabid learner: well into his later years, he loved listening to lectures on topics ranging from recent advances in physics to the history of languages. He was a fifty-plus year faithful congregant of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Danville, where he served as a lay minister and sang in the choir. With his church and family, he was a lifelong community supporter and advocate for social justice causes. In addition to his wife and sons, Reed is survived by six grandchildren: Danielle (28), Eric (26), Robbie (16), Brian (14), Jeremy (10), and Noah (7); many other relatives and friends will also remember him with love and gratitude. A celebration of his life will be held at 3:30 PM on 12 May 2017 at St. Timothy’s, 1550 Diablo Road, Danville. Donations in Reed’s name may be made to St. Timothy’s or to a charitable agency of the giver’s choice. Reed’s family would like to extend thanks to all friends and family who supported the Miller family during Reed’s illness.