Obituary of Lee Norman Miller

Lee Norman Miller, age 85, of Mitchellville, MD (formerly of Ithaca, NY) died on June 4, 2016 from a stroke. Following a life defined by endless curiosity about people and places near and far, he made his final journey to historic Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC. Lee was born in Decatur, Illinois and was predeceased by his parents, Ben G. and Marguerite Miller, and his sister Wylmarose Susler. In Decatur, Lee attended Oakland primary school, Woodrow Wilson junior high school, and Stephen Decatur high school, graduating in 1948. Lee was an avid and accomplished student, and after winning a county scholarship, he attended University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At the University of Illinois, Lee majored first in accounting, then in electrical engineering. He later transferred to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he majored in industrial production management, for which he earned his bachelor's degree in 1953. In November of the same year, soon after becoming a timestudy engineer at Bell & Howell Corp. in Lincolnwood, Illinois, Lee married his college sweetheart, Sylvia Dordek, of Chicago, Illinois. He was a devoted and loving husband to Sylvia for the rest of his life. After his father's death in 1954, Lee moved with his young wife back to Decatur, Illinois, to help his mother. He initially worked as a timestudy engineer for Borg-Warner Corporation. Factory work proved unfulfilling, so he joined his mother in the family retail jewelry business. Great curiosity about the world beyond his home town, as well as a love of learning and the outdoors, eventually led Lee to pursue a degree in forestry. In the summer of 1959, he moved his wife and two small children to New Haven, Connecticut, where Lee began his studies at Yale University. He earned his master's degree in forestry in 1961, then took a research position at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island studying the possible effects of nuclear war on natural vegetation. Lee decided to continue his studies so he could teach at the college level. After earning his PhD in physiological plant ecology from Duke University in 1966, he joined the faculty of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, in the department of Ecology and Systematics. In 1978, Lee was appointed Managing Editor of the scientific journals published by the Ecological Society of America (ESA), the job that would most define his professional career. During the next 18 years, he oversaw the peer review of articles submitted for publication. He managed the publication and growth of these journals, including the creation of a new journal in Applied Ecology and conversion of the peer review process of manuscripts from paper to online. Lee retired as Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor in December, 1996 and in the same year earned the Distinguished Service Citation from the ESA. Lee's impact on the publications of the ESA was profound, as was his training of other science editors, work which earned him a Distinguished Service Award in 1999 from the Council of Biology Editors. Lee had a passion for world travel which began at age 18, when he camped across Europe for two months as Assistant Scoutmaster of his Boy Scout troop. After building wonderful family memories camping across the United States, Lee and Sylvia embarked on a series of independent trips throughout the world in 1971. Their travels took them to over 35 countries on all continents except Australia. He passed on his love of travel to his children and grandchildren. Fulfilling a lifelong dream to live abroad, Lee and Sylvia moved to Montpellier, France for a year in 1987. Lee worked at the Laboratory of Ecology (part of the National Center for Scientific Research) helping the French scientific community understand the American process for publishing their discoveries. Lee enjoyed foreign languages, and often prepared for major trips by taking a language course with Sylvia. Lee was always willing to try speaking a local language, especially Italian, but was able to converse most easily in French. For 40 years, home for the Miller family was a wonderful 1848 Greek Revival style farmhouse in Slaterville Springs, New York, where they enjoyed the pleasures of nature, hiking in nearby forests, swimming in their pond, and tending their flower and vegetable gardens. In 2007, Lee and Sylvia moved to Ithaca's Fall Creek neighborhood, where they loved the friendly and active community life and daily walks through the neighborhood with their beloved dog Lucca. In August, 2015, Lee and Sylvia moved to Collington, a continuing care retirement community in Mitchellville, MD, so they could be close to their daughter and her family. During his 20 years of retirement, Lee taught public library patrons how to use the Internet, and volunteered on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including the Tompkins County Public Library, where he served as chairman of the board, and Better Housing for Tompkins County. He was also active in the Fall Creek Neighborhood Association and organized and managed a book club that focused on Booker Prize winners and nominees. Lee loved the beauty found in nature, and was happiest when walking in the woods. That love of beauty extended to fine art, and music, especially classical, jazz, and folk music. His children will forever have fond memories of group folk sings at home and their Dad singing to them at bedtime when they were young. Though he tried many instruments before deciding he was a better audience member than performer, Lee and Sylvia were always a captivating couple on the dance floor. A very social person who enjoyed talking with friends and strangers, Lee was known for asking lots of questions and listening intently to the answers. His ready smile, hearty laugh, insightful mind, and deep compassion for people endeared him to everyone he met. Lee is survived by Sylvia, his adored wife of 62 years, and their offspring, son Ben (Cathy) Miller, daughter Danna (Larry) Katzman, and their grandchildren Sarah Freier-Miller, Rachel (Gary) Sivek, Gabriel Katzman, and Eli Katzman. If you wish to honor Lee's passing with a memorial gift, please send donations to the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation, Lee Miller Memorial Fund, 101 E Green St., Ithaca, NY 14850.