Samuel Gordon Miller Jr.

The Rev. Dr. Samuel Gordon Miller, Jr., age 70, died at home surrounded by family and loved ones.
A native of Louisville, Dr. Miller was born on Feb. 25, 1953. He was educated at the Louisville Country Day School and the Taft School in Watertown, Conn., where he was graduated cum laude in 1971. He earned his B.A. from Duke University in 1976, and two master's degrees, a Master of Divinity from the Yale University Divinity School and then from Fielding Graduate University of Santa Barbara, Calif. Fulfilling his goal of devoting his life to learning, he received two doctoral degrees, the first, a Th.D. from Emory University and the second a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fielding.
The Taft School's motto, "Non sibi ministretur, sed ut ministret" ("Not to be served, but to serve" Matthew 20:28) was also his credo in life. To that end, he considered theology his supreme joy. He was ordained first as a deacon and then a priest in the Episcopal Church, where he served in the ministry from 1980 to 2000.
He surrendered his Holy Orders to join the Orthodox Church in 2000. In 2004, the office of subdeacon was conferred upon him in the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Utica, N.Y.
In 1992, Sam commenced his career as a professional pastoral counselor. He was later licensed as a mental health counselor in Sarasota, Fla. In 2015, at age 62, Sam realized his cherished aim of licensure as a clinical psychologist in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He joyfully served as a psychologist with Seven Counties Services, and, finally, with Mandala House Mental Health Services, both of Louisville.
His joy of life and learning was augmented by a love of languages, especially French, Russian and Greek. He translated the first half of the Book of Jeremiah for the English Orthodox Bible from the Greek Septuagint. Dr. Miller loved God, his family, and his friends. He felt that friendship, ministry, and study produced life's greatest blessings. As "Junior" Sam wanted to reflect the exemplary generosity he so admired in his father.
Upon returning to Louisville, he was deeply grateful and happy for the warm homecoming he experienced among family, friends, and colleagues.
He was predeceased by his father, Samuel G. Miller. (1925-2019). He is survived by his mother, Jean Dumesnil Miller; his brother, Rowland Dumesnil Miller (Susan Bishop) of Goshen, Ky.; his sister, Hope Miller Goins (Kenneth Milton Goins, Jr.) of Atlanta, Georgia; three nephews, Rowland Antoine Dumesnil Miller of New York City, Benjamin Worth Bingham Miller of Louisville, and Kenneth Milton Goins, III of Atlanta; and two nieces, Eleanor Hannah Miller, of Louisville; and Lucy Goins Blough (Logan Craig Blough) of Charlotte, N.C. He is also survived by his former wife, Melissa Carlson Miller, to whom he was married from 1997 to 2012.
Funeral services will be conducted at 10:00 am on Thursday, September 7 by Father Lucas Rice at Saint Michael Orthodox Church, 3701 St. Michael Church Drive, Louisville, Kentucky 40220, with burial following at Cave Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be Wednesday, September 6, from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm at Saint Michael Church.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of gifts to St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, 3701 St. Michael Church Drive, Louisville 40220; or the Waterfront Botanical Gardens, 1435 Frankfort Ave., Louisville 40206. Funeral arrangements will be handled by Pearson's Funeral Home, "Where Louisville Goes to Remember".