Thomas Wade Hampton "Tom" Miller III

1924 - 2016

Thomas Wade Hampton "Tom" Miller, III, died at his home in Overland Park on Feb. 8, 2016. He was 91. Tom, born March 4, 1924, was the son of the late Wade H. Miller, MD, and Gladys Deans Miller of Kansas City. After studying at Southwest High School and Kemper Military Academy, he was drafted into the Army Air Force, where he served in roles ranging from drill instructor to control tower operator during World War II. While stationed at Charleston Army Air Force Base, he met his future wife, Eleanor C. "Dolly" Simons. After the war, he studied at what is now UMKC, while working part-time as a copy boy and stringer for the Kansas City Star. In 1948, he and Dolly married, and he began building a career. He worked for Folger Coffee and Skelly Oil, before managing several small operations in turn- around situations. In 1967, he accepted a position in Chicago; he retired in 1985 as president and CEO of the National Truck Leasing System, and the Millers moved back to Kansas City that year. Tom was a polymath with interests that ranged from music to books to history. He was a champion black powder shooter and an avid hunter and marksman. During the long Chicago winters, he painted dozens of finely detailed, historically accurate military miniatures representing every regiment and other contingent that fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was an active member of St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church for many years. A man of tremendous wit and intelligence, Tom was a great wordsmith, and he was generous and kind to everyone he met. He was predeceased by his wife and by two brothers, John Dean Waugh of New Jersey and Christopher Hampton Miller of Kansas City. He is survived by his daughter, Sarah Bryan Miller of St. Louis, Mo., and his son, Wade Hampton (Lynn) Miller of Chugiak, Alaska; four grandchildren, Louisa Rix and Eleanor Rix of St. Louis, Thomas Wade Hampton Miller, V, of Chugiak, and Celia Miller of Fairbanks, Alaska; niece, Denine Waugh Phillips of Southern Shores, NC, and by two nephews, Gregory Waugh of Brooklyn, NY, and Stuart Waugh of Phoenix, Ariz. There will be a service of thanksgiving for Tom's life at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, at St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church, 6630 Nall Ave., Mission, KS 66202. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the music program at St. Michael's.