Ronald Thomas Miller, Sr.

Ronald T. Miller, Sr., broke his earthly bonds on Tuesday, July 29, 2014, to join his earthly mother and father, Julia and Herbert Miller. Left mourning his presence are his beloved wife, Mary-Ellen Y. Miller; son, Ron Miller, Jr. (wife Brenda); daughter, Vicki Stocks, and children of his heart, Roger Young (wife Krissy), Jan Curtis (husband Tommy), Donna Teague and Lisa Young; grandchildren, Katherine, Lauren, Ronnie, Amber, Tiffany, Miranda, Meredith, Matthew, and Sara; and three great-grandchildren. Also surviving are his sisters, Marilyn Blanton of Dothan, AL and Lenora Parker of Yorktown, VA, and several nieces and nephews. A graduate of The College of William & Mary and SMU, he held management positions in several industries. The last was Plant Manager of the International Minerals and Chemical Division in Spruce Pine, whose products included high purity quartz for NASA's Space Shuttle heat shield tiles. In 1987, he formed his own local computer consulting business, setting up and managing computer networks for small to medium sized businesses. Since then, he also continued to consult nationally and internationally with several quartz industries. Since retiring five years ago, he has been a part-time volunteer with Waste Reduction Partners in energy conservation projects for the Land of Sky Regional Council. For 54 years, he also enjoyed a parallel second career as a sports official at many colleges, including Clemson, UT, WCU and ASU and at many of their conference championships such as ACC, Big South, SEC, and Southern Conference. He and Mary-Ellen enjoyed big family get-togethers and travel, especially to the Isle of Palms, occasional European trips, and cruises. Family visitation will be from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Saturday at Groce Funeral Home on Patton Avenue. The funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday at Trinity United Methodist Church with the Rev. Rodney H. Hagans, Jr. officiating. A reception will follow the service in the church fellowship hall. Pallbearers will be Ronnie Miller, Matthew Young, Frank Aycock, Mario Moreno, Joey Jaeb, Russ Jordan, James Thomas and Brian McCue. Our eternal gratitude goes to Elizabeth Twardon, M.D., her nurse, Denise Huntley, Bruce Israel, M.D., Theodore Humble, M.D., and Hospice personnel Jeff Tait, M.D., Jeff Hodge, R.N., Jenny Martin, Social Worker, and the staff at the John F. Keever Solace Center. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Trinity United Methodist Church, 587 Haywood Road, Asheville, NC 28806, are welcome. "I can no longer see you with my eyes, or touch you with my hands, but I will feel you in my heart forever."