Thomas Dale "Tom" Miller

With deep sadness, the Miller family bade farewell to their precious husband, father, and grandfather, Thomas Dale Miller (Tom), 83, of Queen, Pennsylvania, on October 9, 2025. Tom passed away at his home, with his beloved wife of 60 years holding his hand, surrounded by children and grandchildren. He was born on July 10, 1942, in Polecat Hollow, a son of the late Clair K. and Pauline G. (Ritchey) Miller.
Tom is survived by his devoted wife Betty (Mock) Miller; daughters Susan Brown (Brian), Lorraine Miller Wolf (Darren), and Kathleen Crawford (Shane); sons Daniel (Debra), Stephen, and Clayton; brothers Brent (Carol) and Samuel (Carolyn); sister Julie (Ed); and adoring grandchildren Rowan, Aaron, Susanna, Christian, Charlotte, Elise, Kamran, and Cyrus. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister Linda; and grandson Cary.
Tom graduated from Greenfield-Kimmel High School in 1962 and enlisted in the Navy two weeks later. He completed training in Chicago and Philadelphia, returning home to marry Betty Mock on January 26, 1965. After six months at his station in Charleston, SC, Tom deployed to San Francisco, then to Vietnam, where he served as a Navy corpsman on the hospital ship USS Repose until his honorable discharge in June 1968. He began working at United Telephone (later Sprint) in 1969 and remained there until retiring in 2004.
Tom and Betty moved to their Queen homestead in 1970, a hillside property with a farmhouse dating from 1867. In his hours after work, Tom remodeled and renovated the entire house, an undertaking that spanned two decades and six children. He cultivated gardens, flower beds, fruit trees, and even beehives. To the delight of his young horse-lovers, he cleared and fenced a pasture for a pony. His enterprising and creative hands built a home around an expanding family, and his fingerprints remain in every room.
One of his children's most treasured memories is sitting on the driveway fence at 5:30 in the afternoon, legs swinging, eyes fixed on the road, watching for Dad to come home. Despite his long work days, there was always time for evening fun. A trip to the Pavia pool, a backyard campfire, a game of whiffle ball, a bike ride or an hour of fishing are just a few of the ways he got the kids out of Betty's hair after dinner. In winter, he kept the old summerhouse coal stove burning to warm small hands and feet chilled after an afternoon of sled riding. Bedtimes in the Miller household were highly anticipated, magical times. With Dad lying on the couch, book in hand, the most coveted spots next to him snug with curled legs, great adventures commenced. The Hobbit, The Black Pearl, Black Beauty, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and many other titles carried imaginations and planted a joy for reading, which remains one of his most profound and lasting legacies. Heads on pillows, covers tucked tight, the night ended for the kids with bedside guitar music or long, rambling (and always thrillingly exaggerated) tales from Dad's own childhood. Tom instilled a culture of curiosity, independent thinking and love of creativity and learning in his children and grandchildren that exemplifies how a life full of selfless love nourishes across generations.
An avid guitar player from his Navy years, Tom taught himself to read tablature. Mornings were spent refining the classical pieces he loved sharing with family and friends. Even in his final week of life, he asked to hold the instrument that had brought him so much pleasure and purpose.
Inventive, resourceful, curious, occasionally irreverent, Tom loved company, conversation, and exploring opinions. Whether standing in line, sitting on a mall bench, or waiting in a doctor's office, every person he met had stories he wanted to hear. Books and magazines were a household staple, and he read voraciously. History, science, sociology, exploration, and music were of particular interest. The college textbooks left behind by his children found new life on his bedside table. Tom also studied to polish his game of chess. He invited any willing visitor to sit opposite him and pass an hour or more playing and practicing. His most formidable opponent -- one whose discipline he admired most -- was his wife, Betty.
For more than 60 years, Tom and Betty committed their lives to each other, to their family, and to their cherished homestead. Tom's memory lingers in every corner of the property, from the sidewalk laid with hand-picked and laboriously transported stones, to the flock of wild turkeys that visit his never-neglected birdfeeder, to the self-designed and fail-safe plumbing system in the old farmhouse. A treehouse nestled in the branches of a willow, tree swings of various designs, a hand-dug fish pond and even a zip-line recollect the joy he took in creating the special places that make childhood memories so sweet. If he could envision a project or structure, he would build it. With his like-minded sons, he engineered more uniquely entertaining (and borderline dangerous) devices than can be listed in this space. For the grandchildren, a week at "Pappy camp" in the foothills of Bedford county was the most begged-for summer vacation, and remains the source of happy childhood memories.
The onset of fall brings to mind a holiday tradition Tom started. After Thanksgiving dinner, he fetched his frayed volume of illustrated Coleridge, with its green cover held in place by a rubber band and written notes stuffed inside. His enthusiasm for reading long-form poetry aloud was not always equaled by his audience, but undeterred, he began once again The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: "O sweeter than the marriage-feast/'Tis sweeter far to me/To walk together to the kirk/With a goodly company!"
These fond memories, and countless others, keep Tom near to heart, even in his absence. The gifts of his labor, his words, his love, and above all, his example, abide now in his bereaved loved ones. He will never be forgotten, and always dearly loved.
A visitation open to all will be held at the Leslie-Miller Funeral Home on Sunday October 19th from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Tom's memory may be made to Hospice, Smile Train, or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
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