Joe Harvey Miller Jr

Joe Harvey Miller, Jr. was born in Stillwater, OK, on May 26, 1932, to Joe and Arteen Miller.

When his father worked for the government, the family moved frequently. During World War II, his father served in the Navy, and the family was stationed in San Diego. After the war, they settled in Washington, DC where his father resumed government service. It was the first time Joe truly felt he had a home, and he cherished the stability of living in one place.

He grew up in Hyattsville, MD where he and two close buddies rode a motorcycle with a sidecar into Washington, DC each day to attend McKinley High School. There, he ran track and graduated in 1950.

He attended the University of Maryland at College Park, initially drawn to agricultural chemistry before discovering his passion for biology. After graduating with a B.S. in Biology and inspired by his Uncle Charles, he pursued dentistry and earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Maryland Dental School in 1957. Immediately after graduation, he was conscripted into the Army and was stationed in Bordeaux, France.

After returning home, he opened a private dentistry practice, but Uncle Sam called again. This time as a member of the 113th Wing of the District of Columbia Air National Guard based at Andrews Air Force base. After completing this assignment, he reopened his private practice in Rockville, MD, and in August 1962 he married the love of his life, Grace Miller, beginning a 63-year marriage built on love, laughter, and partnership. After getting married, Joe realized he wanted to make the Army his career and started a residency program at Ft. Dix, NJ. The Army fulfilled his love of learning by regularly sending him to classes and seminars.

Over his 20-year Army career, he rose to the rank of Colonel and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his service in Korea. His assignments included Chief of General Dentistry at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

After retiring from the U.S. Army Dental Corps in 1982, Joe began a new chapter as a Professor of Dentistry, first at his alma mater, the University of Maryland Dental School, and later at Georgetown University Dental School where he was a consultant to the Georgetown University Medical Center and the Lombardi Cancer Center for Oncology Dental Support Services. In the final years of his career, he devoted his skills and compassion to caring for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Even after fully retiring from dentistry, Joe's love of learning never faded. He took art history classes at the local community college, sitting proudly in the front row among classmates more than fifty years his junior. True to form, he didn't take the easy route by auditing the class. He completed every assignment and exam and earned As!

Joe was one of the most loving, generous, humble, and genuinely good people you could ever meet. He was kind, ethical, and had an unwavering sense of justice. He never hesitated to stand up for his beliefs, often writing to CEOs, newspaper editors, or public officials when he felt those in authority were failing to do right by others.

He was an avid reader with a vast library of books on history, art, and biography. He loved telling a good Daddy joke as well as having deep philosophical conversations, kept a close eye on world events, and found great joy in tending to his yard. After a long day of work outdoors, you could often find him sitting quietly, watching, as he liked to say, "the grass grow."

He also loved to hear his children and grandchildren perform music and frequently he'd tear up as he listened. He had a beautiful voice singing mostly in the shower, and he loved Christmas caroling and listening to his hefty stack of records of the old greats.

Joe's sister, Linda, affectionately called him Junior, as he was named after their father, and despite being his little sister by 15 years, they shared a lifelong connection full of teasing and laughter.

He leaves behind his beloved wife of 63 years, Grace Miller; his sister, Linda Creech (and husband Mort); his daughters, Debbie Gilbert (and husband Chad) and Karen Cheng (and husband John); Angela Loeblein; and grandchildren, Keira, Heath, Gage, Ian, and Genevieve.

The family requests a donation in lieu of flowers to the Adler Center for Caring. Donations can be made online at Capital Caring (select Donate To: Adler Center for Inpatient Care), by phone (703-531-2380), or by mail to Adler Center for Caring, 24419 Millstream Drive, Aldie, VA 20105.