Ken Miller of Inverness, Florida has passed away age 84. Ken was born in 1938 from 1st generation American parents. His grandparents emigrated from Germany in late 1800’s and he grew up in Harrisburg, PA.
Ken was best known for his witted humor and great stories. He was a master at electrical, plumbing, tile and all kinds of DIY projects. He loved golfing with friends, boating on Lake Erie, playing pinochle, and he went to the gym 3 times a week until very recently.
He was a fur trapper and fishing “outlaw” as a teen. He claimed he fished anywhere it was illegal. He enlisted in the army at age 17 and served 2 years active and 6 years reserve service.
He and Jo were married in 1958 and Ken worked for the state of Pennsylvania. He learned data processing which later helped him land a job at Nationwide Insurance in 1964. It was then that Nationwide got its first (8K of memory!) computer. His experience with computers helped him get an IBM supervisor job in Memphis, TN. He attended the University of Tennessee majoring in accounting and taught himself how to write computer programs. Eventually Nationwide recognized his talent and offered him a job in the home office in Columbus, Ohio. He helped create a fire processing system that to our knowledge is still in use at Nationwide. He taught programming languages COBOL, ASSEMBLER and RPG at Columbus State. He worked for IBS in Mansfield, Ohio for a short time and then returned to Nationwide where they restored his benefits enabling him to retire to Florida with his pension at age 56 in 1994.
In retirement he had part time stints as a security guard of a golf course, at Lowe’s and he and Jo volunteered at Meals on Wheels for over 5 years.
Ken is survived by his wife Jo of almost 65 years, daughter Linda Selby (son-in-law Steve) of Columbus, Ohio, grandson Matthew of Los Angeles, CA, son Michael of Huntsville, Alabama and was preceded in death by son Kenny in 1980.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the ASPCA. Private cremation arrangements with Chas. E. Davis Funeral Home With Crematory.
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