John Thomas Miller, 61, of Syracuse, New York, passed away peacefully, wrapped in the arms of his husband David E.W. Reed, on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at Crouse Hospital. The immediate causes of death were cancer of the epiglottis, compounded by pneumonia and liver disease, which was rooted in alcoholism. John suffered a childhood trauma at age 11, developed PTSD, and turned to alcohol as an adult to avoid night terrors. However, for most of John's life, with unparalleled fortitude and inner drive, the trauma was compartmentalized in his brain, with John going on to remarkable achievements, both professionally and personally.

John was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan to William Daniel Miller and R. Beatrice Miller (best known as Bea).

John graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1986 with a BS, where he majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry. In 2000, John earned his MBA at Syracuse University. As an undergraduate, John worked in various capacities at The University of Michigan, primarily as the Emergency Room Attendant for the University of Michigan Hospital. Upon graduation, John began a career as a Research Assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard University, Cornell University in the Department of Plant Pathology, and the SUNY Health Science Center, in the lab of Chris Turner. Ph.D. This work culminated at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Syracuse, in the laboratory of Raju K. Koduri Ph.D. Here, John made important contributions to the development of a new gene expression technology, which led to publication of the research in the scientific journal GENE, and issuance of US and international patents with his name added to those of the senior scientists. The last phase of John's professional career was as a Trainer, then Director of the Central New York Council on Occupational Health in Syracuse, New York.

John's first love was the violin. He began playing as a boy in Ann Arbor, Michigan, studying under many of the area's most prominent teachers, including Carol Brownell. Music should have been his vocation, but he was advised to major in science in college. Nonetheless, he studied violin under Alfio Pignotti at Eastern Michigan University and continued to enjoy his passion. Playing in Pease Auditorium at Eastern Michigan University was one of John's most pleasant memories. His niece, Mariana, plays there currently. While in Boston, John played in the Brookline Symphony Orchestra in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Subsequently and with great sadness, John's gift for playing the violin was taken away from him with the onset of focal dystonia, a neurological disorder, in the 1990s. Not able to play the notes as he knew he had and should, his Peter Horn violin sat idle for the remainder of his life. Two of his favorite pieces to play were "Winter" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Symphonie Espagnole by Edouard Lalo.

On February 17, 1984 John met David E.W. Reed, originally from Binghamton, NY and a fellow student at The University of Michigan. Within months, they became roommates, then partners, and finally husbands to each other on April 17, 2010. The two were married in Massachusetts before a few close family members and friends, mostly based in Massachusetts. Later that summer, the two celebrated their marriage with more friends and more family, at their cottage near Cape Vincent NY on Lake Ontario. Over their 39-year relationship, John and Dave lived in Michigan, Boston, Cortland NY, and in Syracuse NY for 23 years. One could say John carried Dave on his back in the first part of their relationship and the reverse for the second half. John asked Dave long ago, what he wanted in life. Dave's answer was a house with a white picket fence and a cottage on a lake. John bought their modest house in Syracuse in 1995 and the first project was a white picket fence in the backyard to keep their beloved Pomeranian, Chompers, safe. In 2006, they purchased a small fishing cottage on Lake Ontario, and transformed it into a second home. While John had been doing most of the providing, he was also encouraging Dave to finish his dissertation, which he did in 1996. In the second part of their lives together, as John fell victim to myriad health issues and multiple hospitalizations, Dave increasingly helped John. John's health and mobility diminished with time, but the two carried on with their lives, enjoying a quiet life at home. John endured Dave's complete lack of domestic skills and they had fun watching old movies and TV shows, ice skating, swimming, and gymnastics. As recently as mid-August, the couple was still managing their trips to their cottage and, having just figured out Netflix, that was added to the repertoire. What made John special was his devotion to his friends and the breadth of his knowledge and skills, and childlike wonder of the natural world. Beyond being a violinist, John was an accomplished artist, self-taught pianist, gardener, carpenter, cook, tailor, among many other things. There was no limit to how much Dave would be amazed by John doing whatever he set out to do. Maybe the two things most cherished by John were baby ducks and monarch caterpillars and butterflies. Early in their relationship, John found some abandoned, but still live duck eggs. John knew how to incubate them and take care of them. One morning in 1985, John awoke Dave and placed a duck egg near his ear. Inside could be heard the baby duck pecking the egg, trying to make its way out. A while later, Nibbles hatched, along with three siblings. The four baby ducks imprinted on John and Dave. On trips to Zukey Lake, Nibbles and the others would swim close by. When old enough and mostly feathered, the ducks were released in a local park. For more than a year, Nibbles would identify John and Dave and approach them for some bread or corn.

Most of his life, John found monarch caterpillars, brought them inside, fed them, watched them turn into a chrysalis, and emerge days later. Ones with a dot on each of their wings are males and ones without are female. When ready for release, the butterflies would be put outside on some flowers and shortly thereafter, head south, starting their journey to their special place in Mexico. This year, 13 caterpillars were brought in with 12 of the 13 released before John went into the hospital. For John, monarchs were magical. John was magical too. Do us a favor, when you see a monarch butterfly, appreciate the special beings they are, wonder at the magnificence of life, and celebrate John and the wonderful people in your own lives.

Dave would like to thank the many healthcare professionals that kept John going through so many ailments. These include Dr. Katsuhiro Kobayashi, Radiologist, who performed a TIPS procedure, that extended John's life for more than a decade. Dr. David Honald, Gastroenterologist, who operated on John's varices and kept John alive to have the TIPS procedure, Dr. Mohammed Shahab, who oversaw John's neurological care, Dr. Andrew Hathaway, John's Primary Care Physician, and, most of all, Dr. Adam Berg, Gastroenterologist, who oversaw John's care from beginning to end. One final acknowledgement of the nurses and staff on Crouse Hospital's 5th floor south. What a marvelous group that cared for John as he transitioned to comfort care and beyond. Thank you for your kindness and compassion.

Services in Michigan are Saturday, September 30, 2023 at Stark Funeral Professionals in Ypsilanti, MI at 10:30 am, with burial to follow at St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery in Ypsilanti, MI. In Syracuse, on Saturday, October 14, 2023, there will a remembrance and celebration of John's life at the Root family home at 8507 Long Leaf Trail in Liverpool, NY from 4-7 pm.