William Miller, Jr.

Bill led an exemplary life. He was always loving, gracious, kind, funny, patient, selfless, hardworking, and Bill was filled with an intense sense of duty to family and country.

Bill was the first born to William and Elsie Miller in Springville, Utah. Like so many, Bill's early experiences shaped the person he would become. He grew up quickly during the Depression and as a youngster, found himself the man of the house. This was a role Bill took very seriously, and it helped to forge his rock-solid character. Bill, his mother, and his sister benefited from plentiful extended family support within The Church of Latter-day Saints. Education was always a priority in Bill's family, and he reaped the benefits. He excelled at Brigham Young High School in Provo, Utah. No one could ever out work Bill, and that quality served him well his entire life.

After high school, Bill entered the Army Air Corps and was selected for radio operator school where he learned Morse Code. Bill had an unusual aptitude for tones, likely a gift from his musician father, that quickly shot him to the top of his class. Bill was selected to be part of a special secretive unit, the 509th Composite Group, and became a flight radio operator stationed on Tinian, an island in the Pacific. The 509th became famous because it was this group that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end WWII.

The Army Air Corps hoped Bill would make a career in the military but instead he made fast work of an undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University, followed by a PhD in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. It was there that Bill met his talented and beautiful future wife of 67 years, Dolores Mae Otto, in the biochemistry lab. Dolores impressed Bill with her substantial intellect and awesome culinary skills. The handsome couple was married in 1952.

Bill was recruited by the then Upjohn Company to be a research scientist, so the young couple accepted the opportunity and moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. Kalamazoo was their home for the remainder of his life.

While at the Upjohn Company, Bill worked on a few historic discoveries in the fields of endocrinology and gynecology. Bill and Dolores loved Kalamazoo and raised their three children there, Christina, Stanford and Constance.

Bill was mostly a dedicated family man, but he and Dolores had a passion for both vegetable and flower gardening. Together they created prized home landscapes and grew everything from potatoes to raspberries. You name it and Bill grew it. Bill was still an avid gardener well into his 90's. Bill always had a thirst for learning. He never skipped a word of his beloved Wall Street Journal, and he even took classes at Kalamazoo Valley Community College in his 80's just for fun. Bill treasured being an Eagle Scout and he served over 20 years on the Oshtemo Township Planning and Zoning Board.

Bill is survived by his three children, Christina Plooster of Baraboo, Wisconsin, Stanford Miller (Joanne) of Kennesaw, Georgia and Connie Livingston of Kalamazoo, Michigan; 10 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren; and several nieces and a nephew.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, William Louis Miller and Elsie (Sorenson) Miller; his wife, Dolores (Otto) Miller; his sister, Katherine (Miller) Erickson and her husband, Lawrence Erickson; and his son-in-law, Peter Livingston.

Bill passed away peacefully at Meiland Square Assisted Living facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan on February 27, 2025, with his loving family by his side along with the caring, supportive staff of Meiland Square. Bill often said he wanted to live to 100 and he missed that goal by only a few months. But that was pretty much the only thing he did miss. Bill was the complete package and forever the gentleman. Bill made the world a better place.

A private interment with military honors will take place at Ft. Custer National Cemetery, where he will be laid to rest with his late wife.

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