Joseph Spear Miller

Joseph Spear Miller, 79, passed away Sunday, May 17, 2015, at Coastal Carolina Hospital in South Carolina. A remembrance and celebration of his life was held Saturday, May 23, 2015 at his home in Bluffton, SC. Joe was born in 1936 in Brazil, IN and was a 1954 Brazil High School graduate. He was the son of the late Nicholas Thomas Miller and Gladys Spears, both of Brazil, Indiana. He attended Indiana University where he met his wife, the late Mary Ann McElfresh Miller, born in Cincinnati and raised in Ft. Thomas, Ky. Joe and Mary Ann married shortly following their joint graduation in 1958; she passed away in May 2009 with him at her bedside. Through the years, they lived in Twenty Nine Palms, CA, New Orleans, Jackson, MS, Chatham, NJ, McLean, VA, and from 2004 in Sun City Hilton Head, SC. He had a full and active life in Hilton Head, where he adored the community, its golf and other activities, and his many friends and neighbors. In his final years, Joe was close to his wonderful friend Joni Minier, also of Bluffton, SC. Joseph worked as a real estate developer, including for over 20 years with Prudential Insurance Company. Prior to his career, he was a Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps. He is survived by his son Gregory Keith Miller, San Francisco, an older brother, Robert N. Miller of Brazil, IN, in-laws Emily White and husband Don of Cincinnati, Elizabeth DeLong, Timberon, NM, George DeLong, Phoenix, AZ, nieces Rebecca Lawson, Camden, SC, and Katrina Kenny and husband Sean, Cincinnati, and several cousins, nephews, grand nephews and grand-neices. His older brother Thomas Miller of Brazil, IN passed away in 2014. Memorial donations may be sent to Hilton Head Humane Association, P.O. Box 21790, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina 29925. A remembrance and celebration of his life was held Saturday, May 23, 2015 at his home in Bluffton, SC.