Vincent A. Miller

Vincent A. Miller, 93, of St. Joseph, Michigan, formerly of Evansville, Indiana, died peacefully on Tuesday, July 27, 2010. Vincent married his high school sweetheart, Augusta (Gussie) Greif, of Evansville, on September 14, 1940, and remained devoted to Gussie until her death in 2004. Vincent retired from Whirlpool Corporation in 1983 where, for over 20 years, he was Director of Service Training. He was selected in 1961 to establish Whirlpool's Department of Service Training and became a nationally recognized authority in the field of industrial training. He was a director and past president of the American Society of Training and Development, having been recently honored at the annual ASTD convention in Chicago, Vincent was also a founding director of the International Society of Training and Development. In that capacity, he led American delegations to meetings and workshops in Asia, Europe, Australia and South America. Vincent was born February 26, 1917, in Evansville, the son of Marion and Clara Miller. Upon graduation from Memorial High School, he went directly to work and became a master tool and die maker during World War II at Servel. He later served for many years as a trouble-shooting national service representative for Servel until 1956 when he joined Whirlpool. Vincent was unable to attend college during the Great Depression, but in retirement he attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Management Engineering at the age of 78. Vincent authored and published six books and had another underway at his death. Those published for general circulation included: Guidebook for International Trainers in Business and Industry, which has been used to teach University level classes; Jobs and Activities After Retirement; Retirement – New Beginnings, New Challenges; Guidebook for Global Entrepreneurs; and Working with Words – Words to Work With. The most precious of his books, however, was Miller Memories, an account of his life and family from his early days through his post-retirement years. He personally published and bound each of the five existing copies of Miller Memories, retaining one for himself and giving one to each of his children. Vincent also served on numerous church, school and community boards; he was a District Governor of Toastmasters; member of the St. Joseph Catholic Parish Council, Board Member and President of St. Joseph Catholic School Board and the Lake Michigan Catholic School Board; a founding Member of the Twin Cities Area Catholic School Fund; a Board Member and President of the Maude Preston Palenske Memorial Library in St. Joseph and a Board Member of the Readiness Center in Benton Harbor. He was a member of the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Kiwanis Club for over 25 years. In the words of Shakespeare: His life was gentle; and the elements So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up, And say to all the world, THIS WAS A MAN! Vincent and Gussie are survived by their children, Cathy Thieneman (Michael), Joseph C. Miller (Linda), and Mark A. Miller (Leslie), all of St. Joseph, and David V. Miller (Candace) of Newburgh, Indiana. Vincent and Gussie had sixteen grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations in Vincent's name may be made to the Twin-Cities Area Catholic School Fund or the Readiness Center in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where Vincent served on the board of directors and, for many years, as Santa Claus. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:00 A.M. Friday, July 30, 2010 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 211 Church Street, St. Joseph, with Msg. Eugene Sears and Father James Morris officiating. Friends may visit from 5:00 P.M. until 7:30 P.M., with a Prayer Service beginning at 7:30 P.M., Thursday, July 29, 2010 at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Those wishing to sing the memory book online may do so at www.stark-menchinger.com.