William Miller

William C. Bill Miller, age 81, of Maumee, OH passed away Thursday, May 21, 2009 at Hospice of Northwest Ohio, Perrysburg. He was born May 27, 1927 in Custer, South Dakota to Claude Leslie and Sylvia Maude Billings Miller. Bill grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota on a tiny ranch near Mount Rushmore, and attended school in Hot Springs. He left high school for the Air Force and served during the last year of WWII. He was trained as a radio operator stationed in Bermuda known to Bill as the Battle of the Rock. Bills group relayed information between Europe and Washington D.C. from a receiver site in the moat of an old Spanish Fort. He attended the University of Nebraska while still in the service, and later went to the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology for his Electrical Engineering degree. Bill was employed by a small Engineering firm in Jackson, Michigan and Sun Oil. He then went on to Owens Illinois joining the newly formed Engineering Department of which he was an original member. Bill represented O.I. in many construction projects in South Jersey, New Orleans, Central Florida, and served as plant engineer in Brockport, NY and Lakeland, Florida. Returning to Toledo, he supervised the service and technology assistance to plant engineers in Eastern and Western United States. Retiring at age 60, Bill still completed many projects for O.I. in Auburn, New York, Los Angeles, CA, Santiago, Chile and Asti, Italy. Bill and Carlaine traveled extensively in the U.S. and abroad touring Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Greece, Mediterraen ports, Sweden, Norway, the Galapogos Islands and New Zealand. Bill is survived by his loving wife of 51 years, Carlaine Balduf Miller whom he married March 1, 1958; brother-in-law, Carl Mary Ann Crugher Balduf; nephew, Owen Sharon Balduf; nieces, Lisa Louie P. Adams and Sara Randy Adams and grand nephew, Lucas Adams; grand nieces, Sophia Maher and Amanda Maher-Balduf. A Memorial Service will be held Monday, June 8, 2009 1:00 p.m. At St. Pauls Episcopal Church, 310 Elizabeth Street, Maumee, OH. The family requests memorial contributions to St. Lukes Hospital.