Paul Arthur Miller - Born August 16, 1965  -  Died February 18, 2020 - Age 54

Funeral Monday February 24, 2020 at 11 am at Catholic Church of St. Ann 4905 Roswell Road Marietta, GA 30062 phone: 770-552-6400

Reception with "Remarks of Remembrance" to follow in the church hall.

Paul was a unique person.  Anyone who knew Paul at all knew how different he was.  That is what made him the beautiful person he was.  Oh, just like a diamond he had his flaws, but his beauty out shown those flaws.  There is a saying: "You have to love someone because of their flaws, not despite their flaws" and that was very true.

So instead of trying to tell the story of Paul's life in a couple of paragraphs or just giving you dry facts, let this be about sharing with each other gifts he gave us, the lessons he taught us by living his life.  After reading this, please share memories of Paul.  The stories shared by all help us to understand the treasure we have because he was in our lives.

Many don't know that Paul had Cerebral Palsy and went through so much as a child in order to be able to walk.  Having seen him relearning how to walk 10 weeks after his surgery in 2014 to "fix" his right ankle, I can imagine those earlier challenges.  Lessons learned from how he went through his own physical health issues were numerous.  1.  If it is important, do it, even if it is hard.  2. Be honest when things are hard. (He struggled to ask for help, but we also learn from what others don't do well!) 3. Be compassionate for other people's struggles. 4. Allow others to do for themselves whatever they can. You take away their dignity sometimes when you jump in a do for others.

Paul was faithful.  He was a faithful friend.  He stays in touch through Facebook with one of his earliest childhood friendsfrom Minneapolis. Once a friend of Paul's, always a friend of Paul's.  He stayed in touch with co-workers from even his first long term job at Merchants Walk Library. Even if you hadn't seen him in years, he still loved you and would do anything you needed.  His friendship was a gift to all of us.

Paul always had a unique perspective on the things that happened. He often chose to avoid conflict.  It took a lot to make him angry, but when he was angry it was frequently because he felt something was not fair or just.  He believed strongly in just treatment for all people, especially those who suffered due to prejudice.

Paul was a Nerd before we really even had that in our vocabulary.  Science, astrophysics, and history were near and dear to his heart. He read physics books for pleasure and wasn't afraid to admit it. Give him a History book over a fictional story every single time.  His gift was an understanding that we are all nerds in one way or another. Embrace that and love others for their uniqueness.

Paul's physical constraints didn't prevent him from enjoying sports even if he couldn't play that well himself.  He started as a trainer on the Walton football in the 1981 & 1982 seasons. He continued to help out with the kid's sports teams.  He encouraged even the players who struggled the most to keep working.  He was a fan of so many different sports, he loved to see not only his kids play, but nieces, and nephews as well.

The most important thing in Paul's life was his family.  The whole big combined Miller and Van Hout families.  His kids were always the first priority.  He was quite blessed with kids who, even as adults liked to spend time with their Dad.  Families are messy and complicated often requiring giving and getting forgiveness, and yet it seems like Paul never missed a chance to spend time with any and all family. It was family who supportedhim as well as his, church family, work family, and neighborswhile he was dealing with cancer.  His life lesson was that investing time with your family pays big dividends!!!

After diagnosis in 2018, Paul didn't let cancer define who he was and how he lived his life.  His attitude was not that he was going to fight and beat cancer, that was just too much conflict.  Paul was about learning to live with the disease and to heal from what the cancer caused. He continued working and living as well as he could despite whatever new horror his cancer or his treatment brought . His life goes on and on.  His spirit lives in us, and we will carry him with us until we join him in the hereafter. He left his body behind, but he will always be here with us.

Summary of details of Paul's life: