Some of my college buds and I are planning a retirement party for one of our professors. As I was checking my rsvps last night for his party, one of our other professors, Dr. Gary Miller responded to me with the following email:
Dr. Gary Miller, Dr. Charles Smith and Mr. Robert Restemyer were at some kind of a Music Theory convention (fun times)! In the middle of the night, Dr. Smith and Mr. Restemyer were awakened by the tv. There at the end of one of the hotel room beds was Dr. Miller sitting there watching music videos on MTV! Now remember, this was back in the mid 80's when MTV was NEW! According to Mr. Restemyer, Dr. Smith said "Gary...what ARE you doing???" And in typical Gary Miller style he replied "My God, Chuck, you've GOT to see this...this is the most incredible thing!!" -I can just see and hear him saying it! :) One of my favorite memories of Dr. Miller was when I had a party at our dump of an apartment which we called "Skid Row" he and a few other of our profs showed up! Everyone who came to the party had to do something to get in...any talent OR non-talent was welcome! Dr. Miller and his wife Mary came...he tap danced to get in! Typical Dr. Miller. Always a smile, always some word of encouragement.
Dr. Miller, if you can hear my thoughts, thank you for your 30 years of dedication to music education at Southeast. We are all better teachers, performers and musicians for having been in your presence.
May 3, 2011
Hi Carolinn:
A voice from the distant past. Yes, put me down for attending John's retirement. Mary has a wedding to play that night and can't make it. Just list me as plain old Gary Miller.
The only thing that would prevent from being there are health issues. I've been out about 3/4 of the semester. I've had some serious heart problems, so I will actually retire on June 1, 2011 after 30 years at Southeast. I will miss the students and wonderful faculty, etc, but I need to be able to spend time with my family, however long that time may be.
It'll be fun to see all of you again.
All best wishes,
Gary Miller
Today, we got the terrible news that he passed away last night from a heart attack. His email made me pause last night for obvious reasons. Tonight, many of us who were his students who admired and loved him not only for his teaching skills but also for his incredible musicianship and his sense of humor, are feeling a lot of different emotions. I personally am feeling sad but with this overwhelming sense of nostalgia. My husband has a great story about Dr. Miller that Mr. Robert Restemyer, RIP, told during one of his theory classes.A voice from the distant past. Yes, put me down for attending John's retirement. Mary has a wedding to play that night and can't make it. Just list me as plain old Gary Miller.
The only thing that would prevent from being there are health issues. I've been out about 3/4 of the semester. I've had some serious heart problems, so I will actually retire on June 1, 2011 after 30 years at Southeast. I will miss the students and wonderful faculty, etc, but I need to be able to spend time with my family, however long that time may be.
It'll be fun to see all of you again.
All best wishes,
Gary Miller
Dr. Gary Miller, Dr. Charles Smith and Mr. Robert Restemyer were at some kind of a Music Theory convention (fun times)! In the middle of the night, Dr. Smith and Mr. Restemyer were awakened by the tv. There at the end of one of the hotel room beds was Dr. Miller sitting there watching music videos on MTV! Now remember, this was back in the mid 80's when MTV was NEW! According to Mr. Restemyer, Dr. Smith said "Gary...what ARE you doing???" And in typical Gary Miller style he replied "My God, Chuck, you've GOT to see this...this is the most incredible thing!!" -I can just see and hear him saying it! :) One of my favorite memories of Dr. Miller was when I had a party at our dump of an apartment which we called "Skid Row" he and a few other of our profs showed up! Everyone who came to the party had to do something to get in...any talent OR non-talent was welcome! Dr. Miller and his wife Mary came...he tap danced to get in! Typical Dr. Miller. Always a smile, always some word of encouragement.
Dr. Miller, if you can hear my thoughts, thank you for your 30 years of dedication to music education at Southeast. We are all better teachers, performers and musicians for having been in your presence.
No comments:
Post a Comment