Charles B. Miner

1942 - 2024

Charles B. Miner

February 15, 1942 - December 15, 2024

Sea Pines Plantation, South Carolina - Respected by those whose lives he touched, surrounded by some of those who loved him best, Charles B. Miner passed away at home on December 15, 2024.

He was a loving husband, son, sibling, father, grandfather, father-in-law, and uncle, providing stability and safety for the lucky circle described by a word he held sacred: family. But talk to his friends and colleagues and you will find his drive to help others knew no bounds, ending not with relatives but extending to the entire world.

He was a leader at the helm of renowned institutions: the Cleveland Clinic and other hospitals, fire protection companies, construction, aviation, and sporting goods enterprises. But he never lost sight of the many people who worked with him, treating the receptionist with the same respect as the head of surgery.

If leadership was his vocation, community service was his consistent avocation. He viewed retirement as an opportunity to take on more work. The Hudson School Board, Sea Pines Country Club and Community Services Associates, the Forest Preserve board. He gave his time generously.

But when asked to describe his career, he didn't reflect on these things. Instead, he told the stories of pranks he coordinated in high school: Penny Day, when he organized classmates to buy their school lunch with 125 pennies; alarm clock day, when he organized classmates to put clocks in their lockers set to shorten the school day by fifteen minutes. And, in fact, he was right: the themes of inspiring others, leading his peers, and bringing wry humor to the day defined his way of being, whether the outcome was the construction of the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi or a one-day school suspension.

Pranks were not his only art. In retirement he returned to watercolor painting. With the bristles of a brush, he would capture the colors and personalities of birds, reflecting his investment in protecting the natural world.

He was a master angler, always catching the day's largest fish. He could cast a lure with pinpoint accuracy and conjure a strike where no one thought there were fish.

Traveling the world, he visited all seven continents, exploring rainforests and deserts. And if you had the spirit for adventure, he would bring you too. For every canoe needs a paddler in the bow, and every hand of bridge needs a partner.

But his life held no stronger partner than his beloved wife, Margaret "Meg" Miner, "Peep" to her grandkids. Fifty-nine years of marriage brought them memories of friends, vacations, holidays, graduations, and the day-to-day beauty of a life filled with purpose.

He will be missed by many. May he rest knowing he made the world a better place.

He is survived by his wife, Meg; his sons, Curtis and Jason and their spouses, Tania and Tara; his grandchildren, Lucas, Dylan, Signe, and Margot; a nephew he considered a son, Amos; nieces and nephews David, Caroline, Virginia, Lydia, Susan, Douglas, Amos and Meredith; and his beloved Bernese mountain dog, Shiloh.

A celebration of life will be scheduled in March, 2025, and once a date is finalized, save-the-date notices will be sent. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Sea Pines Forest Preserve.