Harold James Miller was born on February 8, 1936, in Akron, Ohio, to Walter and Dorothy Miller. He grew up during the Depression and the war years, which gave him a practical relationship with the world: you fixed what was broken, you saved what you had, you showed up when people needed you, and you didn't make a fuss about any of it. Harold served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1957, completing his service honorably before returning to Ohio to attend Ohio State University on the GI Bill. He graduated in 1961 with a degree in Electrical Engineering and spent thirty-four years at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, rising to the position of Director of Systems Engineering before retiring in 1995. He married Beverly Ann Kowalski in 1962, and together they raised three children in a house on Elmwood Avenue in Columbus that Harold largely built and repaired himself over sixty years. He was the kind of man who could fix a furnace, rewire a lamp, build a deck, and tune a carburetor, and who did all of these things for his children and grandchildren without being asked and without expecting thanks. Harold was a devoted grandfather who attended every soccer game, every school play, and every graduation. He taught his grandchildren to fish, to change a tire, to play chess, and to shake hands firmly. He was not a man of many words, but the words he chose were worth hearing. His grandchildren called him Pop-Pop and knew that his workshop was the best place in the world to spend a Saturday morning. Harold James Miller passed away on July 22, 2026, at the age of 90, at home, surrounded by his family. He was a good man in the truest sense of the phrase.

Hobbies & interests

Woodworking and home repair; fishing on Hoover Reservoir; playing chess with his grandchildren; watching Ohio State football and Columbus Clippers baseball; attending every grandchild's school event and sports game; tinkering with vintage radios and electronics in his workshop

Survived by

His wife of 64 years, Beverly Ann Miller (née Kowalski); three children: Karen Miller-Hoffman (Robert) of Columbus, OH, Gary Miller (Susan) of Cleveland, OH, and Linda Miller-Pearce (Thomas) of Cincinnati, OH; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and his brother, Donald Miller of Akron, OH.

Preceded in death by

His parents, Walter and Dorothy Miller; his sister, Ruth Miller-Crane; and his son-in-law, James Pearce.