Obituary of B. Arthur Miller

B. Arthur (Art) Miller, 79, passed away peacefully at the Drew Nursing Home in Sackville on May 17, 2023. Beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle: he is survived by his wife of 57 years, Anne (Proctor) Miller; his daughter, Jennifer Miller (Jacob Brindamour); his sons, Jason Miller and Jonny Miller (Jennifer S. Miller); his grandchildren, Elias, Achille and Aurele Brindamour and Riley, Declan and Connor Miller, as well as by his sister, Judith (Miller) Hildebrandt of Swanzey, NH.

He was pre-deceased by his brother, Timothy Miller and his parents, Boyd Kelker Miller and Marian McClarren Miller, all of Brecksville, Ohio.

Art was a Mount Allison professor of Math and Computer Science for 37 years, retiring in 2008, but teaching one class per semester until 2015. Popular with students for his clear explanations and humor, Art was honored with the Tucker Teaching Award in 1992. He loved his job, but also loved woodworking, carpentry, construction, gardening, biking and tennis.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, June 14,1943, to parents who were school teachers, Art was raised in Brecksville, Ohio, during the school year, and "the farm" in central Ohio during the summers. On the farm, Art learned gardening, working with cows and sheep and construction: he was instrumental in raising the farm house up so that a basement could be dug out and a foundation poured. Other farm projects included raising and harvesting 1500 strawberry plants to sell in local markets and assisting with sheep castration.

Art graduated from Brecksville High School in 1961, second in his class. He went on to Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio, where he received his BA, Magna Cum Laude, in mathematics in 1965.  Art received a three-year assistantship to Syracuse University to study for his MA and PhD in mathematics, completed in 1971. He did the course work for an MA in Computer Science at Queen's University in 1985-86, and he used a sabbatical year to earn a MEC degree from Dalhousie Univeristy in 2004.

Hiram College is where Art and Anne met and fell in love. They married in Huntsville, Alabama, on July 16, 1966, just after Anne's graduation from Hiram College. Anne taught sixth grade in Syracuse while Art completed his studies. The couple spent 1969-70 in London, England, where Art worked on his thesis with his advisor, and Anne busied herself with sewing, knitting and the new interest of brass rubbing while awaiting the arrival of their first child, Jennifer, born in London four weeks before the trip home to Syracuse. One year later, PhD in hand, Art accepted a tenure-track appointment at Mount Allison Univeristy. The ensuing years saw the arrival of Jason, 1976 and Jonathan, 1978. They also included a sabbatical year in Connecticut (Yale), 1979-80, and an exchange of houses and jobs with a professor in Boone, NC (Appalachian State), 1982-83, year in Kingston (Queen's), 1985-86 and a sabbatical year in Halifax (Dalhousie), 2003-04. All but the last of these involved moving a family of a wife and three children.

But 1988-89 was another matter altogther: Art sought a position back in his home country, the US. He accepted a position at Gettysburg College, in Gettysburg, PA. Granted a leave of absence by Mount Allison, he sold the house on Charlotte Street and bought a house in Gettysburg in 1988. By Christmas, Art had decided that he preferred to be in Sackville, so he sold the house and bought the house on Squire Street in 1989: not only moving the wife and three children, but the whole household as well, twice in the space of a year! 

All through his life, Art had an abiding interest in sports: football, field hockey, running, skating, biking, volleyball and racquet sports were all part of his repertoire. As a young professor, he helped the faculty volleyball team to win the Mount Allison intramural tournament. He volunteered to coach the women's volleyball team in 1981-82, when it was suddenly out of a coach, so the sport would not be lost at Mount A. His favorite racquet sport was tennis. Having been on his high school's tennis team, he continued to play, Anne joining him, until the age of 75! His many trophies attest to his prowess. The last of these were two silver medals, in doubles and mixed doubles, won at the Canada Senior Games in Charlottetown in 2003.

Funeral and cremation arrangements have been entrusted to Erin Campbell and staff of Campbell’s Funeral Home, Sackville (506) 364-8188. A memorial service will be held at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, where Art was Board Chair for 11 years, at 11:00 am on Saturday, June 17, 2023, both live streamed and in person. 

https://www.youtube.com/@StAndrewsSackville/   or   https://www.facebook.com/standrewssackville/

If so desired, donations in his name may be made to the church or to the charity of one’s choice.

On-line condolences and sharing of memories may be forwarded to the family through our website www.campbellsfuneralhome.com or by visiting the funeral home Facebook page.