Michael D Roberts

I had to laugh and cry when I first saw this obituary this morning. I had talked with Peggy, Joe's wife, a few days ago, and knew the end was near. But this photo is typical Joe Miller! I first met Joe in 1959, start of 7th grade at Jefferson Jr HS. We became very close friends in our high school years. Joe was always up for a party. Perhaps we can share some Joe stories in September. Our small group of close friends gathered in Lebo a year ago over Memorial Day weekend. I even stayed at the home I grew up in that is now an air bnb. He wore that hat everywhere! For sure I know he had a full life, and I refuse to mourn his wonderful life!

Barry S Lieberman

Cowey. I have no idea how he got that nickname. We used to play basketball in Cedarhurst Manor with Greg Young & Hank Miller. I played darts with him at the Corner Lounge and true to his hat he played with these huge wooden turkey feather darts. I used to play darts with him at lunchtime on his front porch. Beside life itself, he loved to laugh and compete. I will miss him. I am sure I will not be alone. 

Rod Coffman

A friend from the class of ’64 sent me the obit this week. It’s often hard for me to find the words to express the affection I have for people with whom I spent those early years. I hung out with Joe occasionally in HS. We spent 4 years in college together. I wish I had time and space to tell all of my Joe stories from college. I don’t think I ever saw Joe down. He was a good time guy and always available to drink and play darts. He was ambidextrous at darts after breaking his right arm for the 3rd or 4th time and was forced to toss lefty. He got me into the reverse snobbery of using the wooden darts that Barry mentions. Joe didn’t have mean bone in his body and could break the ice with anyone we met. One weekend we had hitchhiked to Pgh from school and ended up somewhere around Wilkinsburg. When we caught a streetcar to Mt. Lebanon, he spotted an attractive, long haired girl riding a few seats forward. I seem to remember her carrying a large art portfolio at the time. Joe’s eyes lit up and he said, “I got to go talk to her.”  He ended up getting a date with Peggy.  The rest is history, or more accurately herstory now.

Ok, one more story.  One night at school he and another friend went drinking at some bar out in the country.  On the way home from the bar in the early hours of the morning, Joe’s car lost its drive gear. They drove back to campus, about 12 miles as I recall, in reverse.  Not much traffic on the two lane country roads at 2am.

I’ve enjoyed the photos of Joe in the galleries. Here's a couple, one of Joe and i at some bar out by South Park on Christmas vacation, and a photo of Steve Gordy ('64) and Joe looking like Pancho Villa in his basement/bar/dartroom.

Douglas M Hill

Joe was a friend for life.  Time spent with him mostly became an adventure with a good measure of laughter.  With Joe, there was always laughter.  If negatives creeped in, he would counter and flash that big grin, offer condolences (and a beer), then move on.  We had the best times from '64, when I first met him, through much of the 70s.

I remember: Trips to the Jolly Roger and dramatic return journeys with Joe at the wheel - and many other road trips, which always seemed to be in his blood; Carl and Joe's hurried confusion one night which revealed a case of beer leading to the temporary impoundment of Carl's car and an evening at the Mt. Lebanon police station (where we joined a few other classmates already there that night); seemingly endless basement parties when parents were absent;  a lost weekend with Rick and Joe in Memphis that I will never forgot and still don't really remember; my wedding with Joe as best man; and near the end of our youthful run, cabin weekends at Pine Grove Furnace and "Big Daddy" R's on the upper Allegheny River. 

Then spouses, jobs, children and 300 miles changed the nature but not the foundation of our friendship.  There was always a place for remembering Joe through a photo, a song on an oldies station, or just a wall with an old dart board, a setting for many meaningful conversations that once occurred with him - albeit braced with the optimism of youth and laced with a generous portion of alcohol.

I needed to get these thoughts written now because the realization that I will never see my friend again is fresh and sad.  But Joe would probably never put up with such thoughts.  He would move to the positive, without pause. 

Although I had only seen Joe less than a dozen times in the past 40 years, I know I will miss him forever.  I never had friends later on like the ones I had from Mt. Lebanon High. 

Jesus, does anyone?

(With a thankful nod to the film "Stand By Me")     

Reed Pyeritz

Hello old friends (sorry, mature friends)

I've just learned of Joe's passing and want to share a few of my reminiscences. 

While we were students at Jefferson (elementary and junior high) Joe and I lived 5 houses apart on Moreland Drive. His house was across the street from Todd Tallon and next to Bill Webb. Even as a kid Joe had a shuffling gait with his head tilted to one side.  One summer all of us neighbors consturcted race cars, about 6" long (I know this because I still have mine, one of my many mementos that Jane keeps trying to confine to the dust bin of history) out of balsa wood with plastic wheels. We would race our cars against each other done the Moreland hill. Our rules were that the cars could not be lubricated or weighed-down to increase speed. Joe's always won and he never let us touch his car. Finally one of us got suspicious enough to examine his car when he wasn't looking. The axels were heavily oiled and the wood of the under carriage had been hollowed out and a lead weight hidden. Joe just shrugged and said "Let's go play dodge ball".

See you in a few weeks.

Reed 

Theron D (Terry) Provance

Joe was one of the sweetest guys and perhaps the most comical.  My favorite memory of him was our history class together with track coach Doak which we had at lunch time.  Maybe because Doak was a tad feeble and you'll remember that classes would get phone calls from the cafeteria when time to come.  Those black wall mounted phones had horizontal receivers unlike most today that hang vertically.  And in the chassis there was a button that would lift up when receiver was taken off.  The phone rang.  Doak went to pick up receiver.  Phone kept ringing.  Doak hung up.  A few minutes later there is another call from cafeteria.  Doak picked up again.  Phone kept ringing.  Doak hung up and we all said it was the cafeteria.  Doak was disoriented and confused.  We were pretty much laughing.  And then learned that Joe had duck taped the button down so that it would not rise and thus the phone kept ringing.  Pretty ingenious I thought.  Hope he was that entertaining throughout his life which has saddenly ended.

Jeffrey D Jubelirer

Joe Cowie Miller and I with Dean Berger and Roger Cunningham were  the starting backfield of Jefferson grade school. In 6th or 7th grade we were best pals and also walked home together and also spent time in detention with vice principle Nicholas for banging hangers in the hall way of Jefferson. May GOD bless all of us class of 65 and may the Miller family rest in peace with condolences Jeffrey David Jubelirer