Murrysville dentist greeted everyone he passed
Share this post:
Dr. Ross Miller truly embodied the notion of a family dental practice.
“When he started as a dentist in Murrysville, he asked his sister to be the receptionist,” said his daughter, Cheryl Schoone, of Pine Township. “She quit her job and started there, and then when one of his younger sisters was part of the first University of Pittsburgh dental hygiene graduating class, she became his dental hygienist.
When Schoone was growing up, her father would be brought in to the local schools once a year for children who needed to see a dentist.
Dr. Ross S. Miller, of Murrysville, died Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. He was 85.
Dr. Miller was born Dec. 10, 1933, in the Macdonaldton section of Brothersvalley Township, a son of the late Harvey and Karman Miller. He grew up Wyano.
After high school, Dr. Miller graduated from the University of Pittsburgh’s Dental School and served as a captain in the Air Force Reserves.
When he opened his family dental practice in Murrysville, his sister Rosemary served as dental hygienist and his sister Janet was the office manager.
He met his wife, the late Martha Miller, when both were attending the University of Pittsburgh.
“They were both commuters, riding the bus home,” Schoone said. “He noticed her on the bus and pulled her hair to get her attention. He asked her out and that’s how they met.”
The couple was married June 14, 1958.
Dr. Miller served as dentist in the Franklin Regional School District for five decades, was a member and officer with American Legion Post 711, served as a Franklin Township supervisor for six years and helped guide the township in the process of becoming the Municipality of Murrysville in the 1970s.
He was also a lifetime member of the Murrysville Historical Preservation Society and the Murrysville-Export Republican Committee.
“When people were voting, he’d stand out front and hand out leaflets,” Schoone said. “And he had tons and tons of miniature copies of the U.S. Constitution that he would hand out to people. We still probably have 100 of them.”
In his free time, Dr. Miller enjoyed gardening, attending and supporting the Heinz Hall Symphony Pops and attending Steelers games as a longtime season ticket-holder.
Schoone said her father tried to live his life modeled after the poem “If,” by Rudyard Kipling. The poem delves into the qualities that make a man.
“No matter what we were doing, he’d say hello to everyone we passed,” Schoone said. “He would never pass someone without acknowledging them, and if someone said ‘Bless you’ after he sneezed, he’d always say, ‘Yes, I am blessed.’”
Dr. Miller is survived by children Kurt Miller, Annette Smouse, Cheryl Schoone, Maria Miller, Rose Young, Eric Miller, and Mike Miller; three sisters, Kathryn Skero, Janet and Rosemary Miller; thirteen grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 9:30-11 a.m. at Mother of Sorrows Church, 4202 Old William Penn Highway, Murrysville, where an 11 a.m. Mass will take place.
Memorial contributions can be made to Hillsdale College, designated to “Dr. Ross Miller D.A.F.,” 33 E. College St., Hillsdale, Mich., 49242.