Stephen Wilmot Miller, M.D., of Edgartown, formerly of Lexington, died surrounded by his loving family on Nov. 13, 2021, following a brief illness.
Born in Lancaster, Ohio, and graduating first in his Lancaster High School class, he felt a lifelong affection for the town where his close family members lived within a few blocks of one another for generations. The only son of Dorothy F. Miller and attorney Donald C. Miller, it was assumed that Steve would continue in the Lancaster law practice begun by his grandfather.
Drawn by a strong interest in science, however, he enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While a student he was inducted into the Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu Association engineering honor societies. Developing skills in music and sports, Steve played the string bass in the MIT Symphony and the Techtonians, an MIT dance band. He also lettered three years in varsity fencing, serving as team captain his senior year. In 1963 Steve graduated from MIT with a bachelor of science in electrical engineering.
Deciding to pursue a career in medicine, Steve continued his education at Yale University School of Medicine, graduating with a doctor of medicine degree in 1967. In his third year of medical school, he met Christina K. Gilbert, who was working in her first job as a registered nurse following graduation from the University of Vermont. Three months later, Steve proposed, and six months later, the summer preceding his senior year, they married in Northampton. Steve and Chris honeymooned on Martha’s Vineyard, little realizing what a special place the Island would continue to be throughout their married life. A surgical internship at the New England Medical Center was followed by two years’ service as an officer in the U.S. Public Health Service.
The family, which now included their son Scott, returned to Boston for Steve’s residency in diagnostic radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Following residency, Dr. Miller had a yearlong fellowship in cardiovascular radiology at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (now Mass General Brigham), with training in congenital heart disease at the Boston Children’s Hospital. He then returned to Massachusetts General Hospital as a member of the medical staff, where his career as radiologist and associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School spanned 43 years, until his retirement in 2013. During those years he was awarded a James Picker Foundation Scholarship, a Scholarship for Physician-Educators from the Macy Institute at Harvard Medical School, a Macy Institute Scholarship for Medical Leaders, and funding from NIH and others to study “medical informatics.” While a member of the cardiac and thoracic divisions at MGH, he wrote over 60 peer-reviewed papers and seven medical textbooks. “Cardiac Imaging: The Requisites” is in its fourth edition as the core book for imaging the heart with CT, MRI, and ultrasound. Dr. Miller was president of the New England Roentgen Ray Society. He was awarded fellowships in the American College of Radiology, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association. Dr. Miller received the Teaching Award from the MGH residents “in recognition of your tireless dedication to resident education” as well as the Radiology Teaching Award from the Harvard-affiliated Mount Auburn Hospital. Always proud of his Ohio roots, he cherished being inducted in 1994 into the Lancaster High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame for “outstanding achievement in the field of cardiovascular medicine.” He is the recipient of the Lifetime Service Award from the American Board of Radiology, having served numerous times as a board examiner in thoracic radiology.
In 1998, at the request of the Massachusetts General Hospital radiology department chairman, Dr. Miller was asked to set up the newly created MGH radiology practice at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, where he was appointed M.V. Hospital chief of diagnostic imaging.
Steve, Chris, and family lived in Lexington for many years, where Steve served three terms as an elected town meeting member. Vacations were spent on the Vineyard. Over the years the Miller family, like so many before them, proved a quote by Emily Post to be quite true: “To see the Island is to be enchanted, and to linger even for a while is to become unwilling ever to go completely away.” Weekend getaways evolved into weeklong vacations, summer house rentals, buying land, and building a Cape in Edgartown, which over time with additions became the year-round home. Summer jobs for Scott were on the Island throughout high school and college.
Since learning to sail as an MIT student, Steve continued to enjoy the sport. His Herreshoff sailboat is a common sight in Edgartown Harbor waters, and he took great pride that Scott and family are all accomplished sailors. His fondest memories were long dog walks with Christina and their Irish setter, Rory, and summers spent with his grandchildren at the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club filled with tennis and sailing. Steve was regional chair for the Cape and Islands for Educational Councilors at MIT, a Massachusetts Audubon Society Councilor, and board member of the Edgartown Council on Aging. An interest in amateur “ham” radio begun in high school led to his holding the highest amateur license and talking with other amateurs worldwide. He ran road races since his days in the Public Health Service, including completing the Boston Marathon as a member of the American Medical Joggers Association, and in later years won trophies for his age group in Vineyard races. Steve’s kindness, empathy, and dedicated care of others, be they patients, family, friends and neighbors, dogs, or the natural world, were hallmarks of his being.
He leaves Christina, his wife of 55 years, of Edgartown; son Scott Miller; daughter-in law Dr. Lisa Cosimi; grandchildren Caleb Miller and Sydney Miller of Lexington; sister Joyce of Pinellas Park, Fla.; nephew Garrett Emerson of Virginia Beach; and cousins Cindy and Larry Berens of Lancaster, and Jeff and Janet Graf of Ohio.
A graveside service for immediate family was held in the New Westside Cemetery in Edgartown. A celebration of Steve’s life is planned for early spring.
Contributions may be made in Dr. Miller’s memory to the Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary at Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, P.O. Box 494, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568, to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, P.O. Box 1477, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557, or to the Sea Education Association, P.O. Box 6, Woods Hole, MA 02543.
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