Thomas Wherrett Miller

MILLER , Thomas Wherrett On June 16, 2009, Thomas Wherrett Miller , age 77, born in Baltimore, MD and a longtime Naples resident, died with his family by his side. He met his wife, Patricia, in the sixth grade at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Baltimore and after dating all through Loyola High School and Georgetown University, they married on August 15, 1953. Tom and Pat had five daughters, and his mother-in-law noted that Tom was the ideal father for girls. His wife often commented: "If I believed in reincarnation like Tom, I'd want to come back as one of his daughters." In his early career, he worked as an accountant with his father, Thomas William Miller, for the Pimlico Race Track then became a vice president of Peterson, Howell and Heather, a corporate car leasing firm in Baltimore. In 1971, Tom and Pat moved to Naples where Tom had visited his grandparents, Joseph and Mary Wherrett, beginning in the early 1930's. In Naples, Tom developed land left to him by his grandparents and formed a real estate development company, Naples Gulf Contractors. Tom was renowned for his crackerjack mind and dry wit. He often claimed that the only exercise he liked was jumping to conclusions. Tom's great passions in life included reading, sailing, and alternative medicine (a young niece remembers that Tom was into crystals long before she was). Tom typed at lightening speed using only his index fingers, a skill leftover from his days as an English major and college newspaper editor. Tom was a member of the Naples Yacht Club, Potapskut Sailing Association in Maryland and treasurer of the Maryland Club, a Naples luncheon club. Until recently, he and Pat were summer residents of Chestertown, MD where they loved their friends, visits from their grandchildren, the crabs at Rock Hall and their view of the Chester River. Survivors include his wife, Patricia Meagher Miller, daughters Anne Vahey Miller of Summit, NJ, Mollie Dolan Miller of Cambridge, MA, Ellen Wherrett Miller of Sarasota, FL, Sara Kane Gregory of New Haven, CT and Margaret McTague Miller of Sarasota, FL, ten grandchildren (Charles, William and Patricia Poekel; Jack, Ned and Henry Rodat; Anna and Peter Kosub; Theo and Ellery Schneider), four sons-in-law, and sister-in-law Margaret Jerman. Tom Miller was pre-deceased by his parents, Thomas and Evelyn Miller, and his younger brother, Joseph.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 6 Herndon Ave., Annapolis, MD 21403, (410) 268-8816, www.cbf.org.