Richard Miller

Richard “Dick” Miller passed away on October 19, 2024. He was 98 years old. He leaves behind his wife for over 74 years, Crescent “Sis” Miller, neighbors whom he considered his children, Roger and Angie Schwarb, nephew, Gary Miller (Debbie), and niece Sharon House. He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles G. and Bertha A. Miller (nee Lapp), sisters Helen Miller and Mary Louise Hallbauer (Irvin), Margery Smith (William) and brother Charles H. Miller (Evelyn).

Immediately after graduating from Hughes High School in June 1944, Dick enlisted in the Army Air Corp as a Flight Cadet hoping to become a pilot.

In July 1949 he was hired by the Cincinnati Water Works Department as a Junior Draftsman. After attending the University of Cincinnati Evening College and obtaining his Ohio State Professional Engineers License as a Civil Engineer, he led an engineering group that designed many of the department’s large water transmission mains.

In December 1976, Dick was named as Director of the entire Cincinnati Water Department. Dick applied for, and was granted, a $1 million multi-year research grant by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The grant specified that the department had to conduct several years of research to determine if the quality of the drinking water could be improved with treatment by granular activated carbon (GAC) accompanied by on-site reactivation of the carbon. Several years of research proved that GAC would remove almost all of the contaminants found in the raw Ohio River water.

Dick then, after obtaining approval of City Counsel for the funding, led the effort for the engineering design and the construction of an $80 million treatment facility using GAC with onsite reactivation. This facility was the very first of its kind ever designed and constructed. Dick was extremely proud of this fact.

Dick also led the effort to have fluoride added to the areas’ drinking water. In early 1978, under his direction, Fluoride was added to Cincinnati’s water for the first time.

Dick’s expertise in water issues was also recognized at the state level when in 1992, he was appointed by Governor Voinovich to a six-year term as one of the three Commissioners from Ohio to the board of the Ohio River Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO). He served eleven years on this board and was its chairman in 1996.

Dick received many awards during his career. Among those were the George Warren Fuller Award, the Abel Wolman Award of Excellence, and Honorary Membership from AWWA, the Public Service Engineer for 1992, from the Cincinnati Chapter of the Ohio Professional Engineers Association and the 1993 Professional Accomplishment in Government Award from the Engineers and Scientists Association of Cincinnati. In 2001, Dick was elected into the Water Industry Hall of Fame, located in Denver Colorado. By far his greatest reward was the renaming of Cincinnati’s largest water treatment plant, located on Kellogg Avenue as “The Richard Miller Water Treatment Plant” upon his retirement on January 1, 1993.

Dick and his wife, Sis, were both avid skiers and skied many mountains in Vermont, Colorado, Utah, and the Alps. He also loved baseball and golf and was a member of the Clovernook Country Club since October 1984.

Dick and Sis both strongly believed in giving back to the community. Shortly after his retirement, they donated the funds to design and construct a water fountain located in the entrance of the Filter Building at the Miller Plant.

In 2018, they donated enough money to be granted naming rights for a major addition to an animal shelter, The League for Animal Welfare, located in Batavia, Ohio. The addition named the “Sis and Dick Miller Wellness Clinic” doubled the capacity for holding dogs and cats and also contains a unique surgical center where surgical procedures can be done on site.

Visitation will be conducted at the Arlington Memorial Gardens Funeral Home located at 2155 Compton Road, 45231 from 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM. Services will begin at 10:30 AM with burial following in the Garden of Nativity at Arlington.

In lieu of flowers, donations, if desired, may be made to the League for Animal Welfare, 4193 Taylor Road, Batavia, Ohio 45103 or https://www.lfaw.org/