John Miller

John Roderick Miller passed away on November 2, 2010 at his home in Fort Myers, Florida. He was 78. He had battled cancer since 1998. Born in Waukegan, Illinois on April 6, 1932, John R. Miller was one of two children of Daniel Gilbert and Mary Brown Miller. As a young man, John grew up in Waukegan, Zion and Gurnee, Illinois. He studied cornet with P.B. Newcomber and as a member of the Boy Scouts he attained the rank of Life Scout. In 1950, John graduated from Warren Township High School where he was a three sport varsity letterman in football, basketball and baseball. He also played first trumpet in the concert band and won numerous state solo competitions. He spent one year at Wheaton College, but graduated from North Central College as a scholarship student with a triple major in Business, Finance/Economics and Government in 1955. In 1956 he joined his father Dan and Uncles Gerald and Cecil at G.L. Miller Motors in Waukegan selling Lincolns and Mercurys. He lived in Tulsa from 1957-1959 selling oil leases for DX Sunray, Phillips, Marathon and Mobil. This also marked the beginning of his 25 year association with auto racing where he was involved with USAC Stock Cars, USAC Road Racing Cars, altered-wheelbase drag cars and USAC Indy Champ Cars. In 1958, he co-sponsored the pole winning car of the Indianapolis 500 driven by Dick Rathmann whose day ended after a 15-car wreck on Lap number 3. He also owned cars that were driven by Tony Bettenhausen, Al Unser, Don White and Dick Crouthers. From 1959-1962, John lived in Milwaukee where he worked for Wally Rank Motors. In 1962, he rejoined his father to launch Dan Miller Motors, a Dodge dealership in Zion, IL. John met his future bride Virginia Pacioni, a teacher at Zion-Benton High School, in 1965. They were married June 17, 1967 and had two children, Daniel Gilbert and David John. In 1976, John bought the business from his father which was now a Ford and Datsun (Nisssan) dealership. From 1961-1983, John won numerous national sales awards and served on multiple Dodge, Ford and Datsun (Nissan) Regional and National Dealer Councils. In 1984, he sold his business to Craig Bernard. He spent 12 years as the President of the Lake County (Illinois) Society for the Retarded and Handicapped. He was also the Founder and President of the Keith Ryan Scholarship Foundation, partnering with the College of Lake County in Grayslake, IL to establish scholarships for aspiring sports journalists. In 1990, John and his wife Virginia moved to Florida where he took a job with Tamiami Ford in Naples. In 1992, John suffered his first bout with cancer which brought about his retirement. The cancer returned in 1998, but John beat it once more after radical treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. This also began his association with the American Cancer Society and their Relay for Life. John captained many Relay for Life teams, working tirelessly for months leading up to each year's event. He also served as a board member for the American Cancer Society, South Gulf Coast Area and was the Secretary/Treasurer for the New Voice Club of Southwest Florida. In addition to his family, his passions included auto racing, the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago White Sox and jazz music. He is survived by his beloved wife Virginia, his son Daniel, his son David, his loving daughter-in-law Julie, his beloved granddaughter Melanie Juliet and his sister Edith Jeanne Peterson. A memorial service and celebration of life will be held in Lake County, IL in the summer of 2011. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Head and Neck Department 1275 York Avenue NYC, NY 10065 attn: Development Services