Dr. Albert J. Miller

1922 - 2020

Chicago cardiologist Albert J. Miller died on April 21, 2020, at the age of 98, after contracting the COVID-19 virus. Al was born in Chicago on February 19, 1922, to Rebecca Jagolinzer Miller and George Miller, recent immigrants from Russia. He grew up in Albany Park with his sisters Rose and Pauline, and went to Hibbard Elementary School and Von Steuben High School. He attended Northwestern University, commuting every day from Albany Park to Evanston on the Lawrence Avenue streetcar. He attended Northwestern Medical School, graduating in 1946. Upon graduation, he served in the US Army Air Corps, first in Texas and later as a captain and flight surgeon stationed in Alaska, where he was on a team that established the first Arctic Aeromedical Research Laboratory. He treasured his memories of his military service and later became an active member of the Jewish War Veterans.

Al completed a residency in internal medicine followed by a fellowship in cardiology, both at Michael Reese Hospital. He became an attending physician at Michael Reese, where he saw patients and did research on cardiovascular disease. He also saw patients at the Hines VA, Children's Memorial Hospital, and Cook County Hospital. In 1960, he joined Dr. Benjamin Kaplan to form a private practice. The two became lifelong dear friends and colleagues.

By 1972, their practice, Clinical Cardiology Group, had moved to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and had grown to include Drs. David Abrams, Martin Grais, and Mark Upton, and later Dr. Jeannine Turner. In addition to seeing patients, Al did research on the lymphatics of the heart, published numerous articles on that topic as well as others, and wrote several books, including one for patients. He was a professor and later a professor emeritus at his alma mater, Northwestern University Medical School.

Al loved being a doctor – the intellectual challenge, the ability to help people, and the pleasure he got from interacting with his patients, many of whom he took care of for decades. His patients appreciated his warm and generous nature and his talents as a doctor. He deeply valued his colleagues in the medical and related professions. His work ethic was boundless, and he worked long hours to address his patients' needs. He believed that good health care should be available to all, never turned down a patient due to inability to pay, and supported universal access to health care. He did not retire from private practice until age 86, after which he volunteered at a clinic for low-income patients.

He was married to Judith Levinson from 1946 until their divorce in 1966. They had three daughters, Lisa, Susan, and Laura. He married Gwen Baker in 1972 and became stepfather to Gwen's four children, Alison, David, Lauren, and Todd. Gwen and Al were devoted to each other until Gwen's death, also from COVID-19, on April 18.

Al had an insatiable intellectual curiosity. He was a prolific reader, especially of history and philosophy. He loved to write, whether poetry, long letters, or published cardiology books. He wrote poems until shortly before his death. He loved to garden and had a greenhouse. As a boy, he created and got great joy from a darkroom, and as an adult he worked to become a fine photographer. He and Gwen had a passion for travel and enjoyed going to the opera and the symphony.

Al had a huge heart and a generous spirit. He believed deeply in the goodness of human beings and in the miracle of the human brain and body. He valued the human heart, both the physical heart that he studied and the emotional heart. He had a keen sense of justice and was never afraid to speak up for the rights of others, especially those without financial means or power. Core Jewish values of scholarship, honesty, charity, and treating others with dignity informed his days.

He was a wonderful father to his three daughters, for whom he had a deep love, and he was vocal about how important they were to him. He had high expectations for them to be good and responsible members of society and to embrace the fine values that guided him through his life. He shared with his children the large occasions of celebration and grief, as well as the small moments, such as delighting over a butterfly in the garden or bandaging a cut. He was always available to his children and they relied upon him often for his wise counsel.

He is survived by his daughters Lisa (Larry) Sablosky, Dr. Susan Miller, and Laura Miller (Eric) Eligator; grandchildren Karen (Joshua) Leavitt, Kate (Scott) Elengold, Lily and Talia Eligator; great grandchildren Sasha and Mitchell Leavitt and Isaac and Graham Elengold. He is also survived by Gwen's children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, for whom he had special fondness.

Memorial contributions can be made to Doctors Without Borders https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/support-us or HIAS Immigration and Citizenship https://www.jcfs.org/hias/donate-now

Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals-Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com.