Samuel Miller

Dr. Samuel Bradley Miller, M.D. died after a long illness on September 9, 2013 in Waco at the age of 80.

He was born October 2, 1932 in Boston, MA to Philip Beamon Miller and Marie Fulton Miller.

Brad graduated from Austin High School in El Paso in 1949, at the age of 16. He then entered Southwestern University in Georgetown where he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. He played football, ran track, and was a cheerleader for SU, and remained a proud Pirate his entire life.

Upon graduation in 1953, he was drafted into the US Army and served one year in Korea where he received the Combat Infantryman’s Badge for service under enemy fire. After his honorable discharge, he earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas where he graduated in 1959. That same year, he married Carol Sanders in Marshall.

Upon completing his internship in 1960 at Los Angeles County Harbor General Hospital, the family moved to Texarkana where he completed a preceptorship in surgery at The Southern Clinic. The family then moved to Marshall where he was a general surgeon at the Texas and Pacific Railway Hospital.

In 1962, Brad accepted a position in Commerce as a general practitioner and country doctor who still made house calls around the county. One of his greatest joys was delivering babies, and following their progress into childhood.

In 1965, he began a four year residency in child psychiatry at The Menninger Foundation in Topeka, KS. Upon completion of his training he spent a year on the staff of the Menninger Children’s Hospital.

In 1970, Brad came to the Methodist Children's Home in Waco and during the first year there he hired staff in preparation for the opening of the Methodist Home’s Children’s Guidance Center in July of 1971. The Guidance Center was unique in that it was a joint venture between the Methodist Children's Home and the Waco/McLennan County MH/MR. It was supported the first eight years by a federal Community Mental Health grant, following which the Methodist Children's Home assumed financial responsibility. Under his leadership as Medical Director it became a fully accredited children's psychiatric hospital. He remained at the Methodist Children's Home until his retirement in 2010. He also had a private practice and did contract consulting for the US military at Fort Hood, Cedar Crest Residential Treatment Center in Belton and at New Horizons Residential Treatment Center in Goldthwaite. Dr. Miller was a gifted teacher and supervisor and because of this he trained many of the mental health professionals in Waco and throughout the country. He was an adjunct professor for the Baylor University Doctorate in Psychology program, a role in which he readily invested himself.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his eldest son, Creighton Philip Miller; and his older brother, Parker Dexter Miller.

He is survived by his wife, Carol Sanders Miller; and his two sons, Eric Sanders Miller and his wife, Susie and Curtis Fulton Miller; his brother-in-law, John P. Sanders and wife, Carol B. Sanders; and his sister-in-law, Pat Miller. Other survivors include goddaughters, Camille Cruthird and Mimi Geleta; his godson, Robert Johnson; and his beloved pet cat Button Louise.

Other cherished friends and employees include Maybell Smith, Robert Brown, Tom Jackson, and Javier Ibarra.

The family wishes to thank the staffs of Providence Hospital, Providence Infusion Lab, Hillcrest Inpatient and Outpatient ReHab units and Hillcrest Hospice.

He was a member of the American Medical Association, a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Brad practiced and loved medicine and cared for his patients for 50 years and “did no harm”.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Waco Association for Retarded Citizens Summer Camp fund, or the charity of your choice.