Byron Hasting Miller

1926 - 2017

Byron Hasting Miller

Byron Hasting Miller passed away peacefully in Seattle on April 13, 2017. He was 90.

Byron Hasting Miller was born in November 1926 in Birmingham, Alabama to Janet Brown Miller and Byron Hasting Miller Sr. He was raised in St. Bernard, Ohio where he often helped in the family coffee shop peeling potatoes and delivering pies. As a child, he loved watching the activity at the local airfield and was busy sketching airplanes. Aviation became a life-long passion, and he received a degree in aeronautical engineering from University of Cincinnati. Byron was a WWII veteran of USAAF and flew 46 combat missions as a Naval Aviator in the Korean War.

Stationed at Sandpoint Naval Air Station in Seattle, he met and married Elizabeth (Bette) Fowler. It was a loving and enduring partnership for 61 years. After 7 years with the Navy, Byron joined The Boeing Company and spent 21 years working in engineering and international marketing positions, including two years in Geneva, Switzerland as Boeing's European Director, and eventually rising to Vice President of International Sales. In 1972, after the visit by President Nixon, Byron and his sales team negotiated the historic sale of 10 Boeing 707 jets to China, becoming the first American aircraft manufacturer to enter the Chinese market. After a brief stint as North American President for Airbus Industries in NYC, Byron joined Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) and moved to Rancho Santa Fe, California where he served as Vice President of Marketing and Fleet Planning.

Byron had a passion for golf and tennis, becoming a certified tennis instructor during a work sabbatical and briefly contemplated a career on the hard court. Byron and Bette loved and actively collected contemporary art and Asian antiques during their travels. Byron also deeply enjoyed classical music and opera. He was a wonderful raconteur, sharing stories, poems, jokes, and songs with his family and friends. During his 23 years in RSF, he was a board member of the Rancho Santa Fe Association and the RSF Historical Society, harvested macadamia nuts and oranges, and was competitive on the tennis courts.

Byron and Bette were enticed by an expanding family to move back to Seattle in their later years. Byron loved being an active part of his children's and grandchildren's lives and enjoyed spoiling them all. Byron was a generous, loving and compassionate husband and eventually, caregiver to his wife Bette. He is survived by his children: Deborah Stratton (Richard), Byron Miller III, and Lisa Lindburg (Peter) and six beloved grandchildren: Lindsay, MacKenzie, Emily, Byron, Annika, and Peyton.

A private interment will be held at the Tahoma National Cemetery where Byron will be reunited with his Bette. Remembrances may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or to the National MS Society. A celebration of Byron's life will be held on Friday, June 2nd at 4:30pm at the Seattle Yacht Club. Please visit Byron's online guestbook at www.Legacy.com.