The Tim Miller Memorial Scholarship
When Tim Miller passed away at the age of 40, he left behind three children: Tim Jr. 12, Brittany 15 and Danielle 16. Tim was someone that you would never forget once meeting him. He had a great sense of humor and you could hear him laughing along with anyone he was with from many rooms away. He started working for ComEd right out of high school in 1978. He loved his profession and took pride in his work. It takes a special person to work on a 12,000 volt line during a storm on a pole while sixty to seventy feet in the air. But, Tim felt no fear and loved a good challenge. The work these men and women do for our country needs to be honored and recognized. Every day they are out working on dangerous jobs that could claim their lives at any minute so we can enjoy the electrical powered luxuries we have in our homes. These men are as important as police officers, firemen and other professions whose lives are on the line every day.
Tim was the acting crew leader when on June 7th, 2000 in Lakewood, IL he was electrocuted on the job. It was a needless loss; there were trees that had not been trimmed which contributed to a live wire getting hooked on a tree branch that conducted high voltage to the dead wire he was rolling up. We never thought something like this could happen to him. He was experienced, confident and was very good at everything he did. Tim was driven, he worked very hard to support his family and he was a good father. He attended all our children’s sporting events and there were many: volleyball tournaments that would last for entire weekends, soccer games, football games and wrestling meets. Our oldest, Danielle, was a soccer player and club volleyball player who would travel all over the country for national qualifiers and who’s goal was to get a division 1 college scholarship in volleyball. Brittany also played volleyball and Tim was dedicated to helping them succeed at it. He was a youth football coach for Tim Jr.
Tim was an avid fisherman. Before his passing, Tim had scheduled a trip to Canada for himself and Tim Jr. with fellow ComEd linemen from the Crystal Lake office. Unfortunately, Tim would never make the trip. His best friend Kelly Skiles stood in for Tim and took Tim Jr. on that fishing trip. In March 2011, Tim’s best friend Kelly Skiles suffered a mortal injury on the job at ComEd thus leaving another family with a huge loss that can never be filled.
Our daughter Danielle was recruited as a libero and received a partial scholarship to play volleyball for the University of North Carolina Charlotte; a division 1 University. She was killed in a car accident in 2004 at the age of 20 before she could learn that she in fact obtained a full scholarship. I have a scholarship fund in her name.
Our daughter Brittany is now twenty seven years old, married and doing well. Our son Tim Jr. will be twenty four in July. He is a diesel mechanic working for Pepsi and will be getting married soon. Like his dad, Tim Jr. is an avid fisherman and bought a house on a pond so he could fish every day.
Tim would be honored to know he has not been forgotten and that a scholarship in his name will go to help individuals obtain their goals, just like his daughter Danielle did.
To read about more of our memorial scholarship tributes, please click here.