Clifford James Miller, Jr “CJ” passed away peacefully on Dec 15, 2020 at the Halifax Hospice Care Center in Port Orange, Florida with his loving daughter, Diana, and wife, Jo, by his side.
CJ was born in Poughkeepsie, NY on June 04,1932 to Isabel (Brill) Miller and Clifford James Miller. He spent his childhood, attended school, and later raised his family in Pawling prior to moving to Poughkeepsie. He moved to New Smyrna Beach, Florida in 2018 with his wife Jo. They were married for 41 years.
He had a 38 year career with the IBM corporation in Poughkeepsie, NY retiring as a Systems Analyst in 1993. As he became restless with retirement, he moved onto his “fun job,” of eight years, driving a bus for special needs children whom he referred to as his “precious cargo” for the Wappingers Central School System.
He was a loving father, husband and friend. Over his lifetime, CJ was involved with bowling, fishing, gardening, hunting, golfing and model railroading.
His love of trains was due to his father’s position as an engineer for the NY Central R.R. As an avid model train enthusiast, he was recognized as a design consultant of the model railroad display in the historic John Kane House in Pawling, New York.
He was predeceased by his younger brother Paul Miller (Ruby) of Raleigh, NC. He is survived by his brother Glenn Miller of Raleigh, NC, his sister Joyce (Miller) Bartholomew of Phoenix, AZ, his son James Miller (Debra) of Hendersonville, NC, his daughter Diana Cyganovich (Lawrence) of Troy, Idaho, son Derek Miller (Kate) of Lawrenceville, NJ, and grandchildren: Steve Martin, Michael Miller, Brian Martin, Tracy Miller, Matt Miller, Jennifer Miller, five great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. CJ developed an extremely close relationship with his brother’s- in-law; Buddy Palatiere (Richmond), Sal Palatiere (Dallas), and especially David and Ruth Palatiere of New Smyrna Beach, Fl. who were greatly involved in his journey.
He was a loving father, husband and friend and had a great sense of humor which remained with him to the end. CJ was a joy to be with and full of grace no matter how difficult things became for him. We will always cherish him deeply and will miss him forever.
A special thank you to Sadie’s Place LLC In Poughkeepsie for providing CJ with a place for socializing and meeting local folks with similar needs and interests.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:
Sadie’s Place NY LCC
143 Boardman Road Building 3
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
https://www.sadiesplaceny.com/
