Walter T. Miller

Dateline: Cairo, Ohio

Walter T. Miller, 97, died on May 15, 2022, at the Mennonite Memorial Home in Bluffton, Ohio.  He was blessed to be able to enjoy his 97th birthday accompanied by his family.  He was born on May 14, 1925, in Lima, Ohio to Stanley R. Miller Sr. and Rosalda (King) Miller, both of whom preceded him in death.  On December 19, 1948, he married LaDonna Belle (Layton) Miller who also preceded him death.

Walter graduated from Lima Central High School in 1943 and worked as a baker at the Barr Pastry Shop in Lima, which is where he met LaDonna, the love of his life and his future bride.  He was a World War II Army veteran and upon his discharge, he hired in at the Lima Sohio Refinery where he retired after 38 years.  He made several trips to Florida with LaDonna to visit friends and always sent cards and letters to those he didn’t see in person.  He loved to reminisce about the Refinery on the “Cat Cracker” and “Crude Coker” and he was their oldest living retiree.  He was especially proud of being a member of the Sohio Quarter Century Club and successfully organizing their annual conventions.

Walter was quite a baseball player in his younger years and was an avid fan of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, as well as the OSU Buckeyes football team and the Cleveland Browns.

Along with being a loyal husband and great father, he was a Monroe Township trustee for many years and an avid bowler with the Alley Cats Bowling Club.  He was also an active member of the Sugar Creek Grange for several years and served as the Master.  He was a lifetime member of the Columbus Grove VFW Post 9648.  In his later years, Walter enjoyed golf, bowling, dancing, and socializing; he was quite the social butterfly and never met a stranger.  He was a member of the Bluffton Sr. Citizen’s Center and provided the music and entertainment on dance nights. 

Walter always had a place in his heart for farming, crops, animals, and anything related to nature.  He loved living in the country and was known for taking in wild animals in need of help.  He had a wonderful, ornery sense of humor that he was known for as well as a kind and generous nature.  He was a fabulous joke-teller and loved to hear jokes especially totally inappropriate ones.

In his final years, he understood that his wealth was never measured in dollars and cents but in the wisdom he passed on to his children and the love and respect he garnered from all who knew him.  He will be missed.

Survivors include a son, Thomas E. (Janis) Miller of Willoughby Hills; a daughter, Sherri L. (Lavern) Schnipke of Bluffton; a daughter-in-law, Gloria Miller of Cairo; a sister-in-law, Doris Miller of Cairo; 4 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by a son, Terry O. (Gloria) Miller; his brother, Stanley Roger Miller II, a sister, Esther Eckenwiler and a brother-in-law Waldo Lynn Eckenwiler.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Cairo Rescue Squad.

Friends may call on Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Hartman Sons Funeral Home, Columbus Grove, with visitation from 9:00 a.m. until time of funeral services at 10:30 a.m.  Burial to follow in Cairo Westside Cemetery.

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