Max Robert Miller Jr., known to students and coworkers as “Captain Max,” was the cooperative education program manager at the University of Mississippi’s Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence.
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Miller died at 67 on April 22 in Calhoun County in a head-on collision with another vehicle.
Miller’s impact on students went beyond their time at Ole Miss, students said.
“He was my advisor and he’s the reason I decided to go here,” Mary Kate Domino, a senior business major, said. “When I was a senior in high school, he met with me and he was able to quote what I had put on my resume. He had a genuine interest in getting to know people. He was very good with advice and mentoring in general. He would ask you the right questions to get you to figure out for yourself what you needed.”
One of Miller’s biggest accomplishments was forming mentorships with students. He was a positive influence on many and a man that was always looking for ways to serve others.
“A lot of his job was helping students to find potential job opportunities and identify companies that they could work with and taking them out there,” Scott Kilpatrick, cooperative education program director for the CME, said. “He interacted one-on-one with students and played a big role in what they were doing.”
Business major Cary Allen said Miller was a teacher that was always there for advice or conversation.
“‘How’s life?’ is what he always asked,” Allen said. “He never talked about himself. If you asked about him he would always say ‘I’m fine, don’t worry about that’. You could talk to him about anything.”
Miller was born in Bakersfield, California in 1949. He graduated from North Bakersfield High School in 1967 and later attended California Maritime Academy. After graduating college, Miller served as a firefighter in the Kern County Fire Department before starting a career in the United States Coast Guard.
He married his wife, Janis, and in 1971, the couple traveled from coast to coast as a military family before settling in Oxford.
Miller worked for the Ole Miss Office of Admissions and Office of Financial Aid before retiring and returning to work at the CME.
Besides helping students and helping out at his church, one of Miller’s hobbies was cooking.
“He really loved to cook and barbecue,” Domino said. “He said his favorite meal was ribs with a Coca-Cola barbecue sauce. Anytime a student was going abroad, he would always send them on a mission to find the best red sauce they could and bring the recipe back for him. He made a study snack during finals week that was a white chocolate, peanut butter and Chex mix type of thing.”
Miller was very involved with the College Hill Presbyterian Church, where he served as a Deacon. Miller’s family attends church there with Kilpatrick.
“Anything that needed to be fixed, he would go and do it,” Kilpatrick said. “He was up at the hospital constantly checking on friends or other that may have needed him. He set a good example by his actions. I wish there was some way to relay to you how great this man was but words don’t do it justice. He was strong in his faith as a Christian.”
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. April 28 at the College Hill Presbyterian Church. In honor of Capt. Max’s service to his country, the flag of the United States Coast Guard will be flown at Waller Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions in Miller’s memory may be made to the University of Mississippi Foundation for the purposes of establishing a future scholarship in honor and in light of his service. Donate at www.umfoundation.com/maxmiller.
