Charles Bernard Miller, Jr.

Charles Bernard “Charlie”/”Chuck” Miller, Jr., 72, passed away October 5, 2022. Visitation will be held from 9:00 to 10:00am on Friday, October 14th at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 1001 E. 52nd Street, Kansas City, MO, followed by a funeral mass at 10:00am. A reception will immediately follow at Matt Ross Community Center, 8101 Marty Street, Overland Park, KS.

Charlie grew up in Prairie Village, the oldest child of Charles Miller, Sr. and Ruth (Schoenlein) Miller. He attended St. Ann’s Catholic School, Curé of Ars Catholic School, St. John’s Seminary and Bishop Miege High School. After attending college at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, he began a career in the funeral industry that lasted over 30 years. The majority of this was spent at McGilley Funeral Home, then later at Muehlebach Funeral Care, allowing him to provide comfort and warm smiles to people when they most needed them.

Charlie was a natural at building community and connecting with people. He had many interests and even more dear friends, cultivating these through various affiliations including SDS at UMKC, Kansas City Young Democrats, Funeral Directors Association, Curé of Ars Parish, Holy Cross Parish, St. James Food Pantry, Bishop Sullivan Center, Westport Tomorrow, Sierra Club of Kansas City, Downtown Tomorrow, Jaywalkers and Seton Center.

Charlie enjoyed experiencing all types of live music and was always ready to sing, whether it be in the harmony of choirs or a duet with Big Mouth Billy Bass. Quiet time was spent reading mystery books - especially Stephen King - and he shared his love of reading with his daughters. When they were not playing neverending rounds of Scrabble, Charlie and his wife Elizabeth traveled across the country and beyond, but Charlie loved Kansas City best.

There were three guiding principles by which Charlie lived:

We are all God’s children doing the best we can with what we have

Remain faithful to your friends

Remain a Democrat

Charlie was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, Kansas City, MO; daughters Molly Miller, New Orleans, LA, and Amie Miller, Overland Park, KS; brother Hagen (Renie) Miller, Kansas City, MO; sisters Maureen Miller, Raytown, MO, and Kathy (Barry) Parrish, Ottawa, KS; stepchildren Rachel (Matt) Merlo, Jennifer Hack (Randy) Wolf and Ryan (Stacey) Hack, all of Kansas City, MO; grandsons Trent and Evan Merlo, and Cole and Leo Hack; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Juan and Reta Leon, Blue Springs, MO; brother and sister-in-laws Phillip (Denise) Leon, Kansas City, Dave Leon, Kansas City, Patrick (Sharla) Leon,Kearney, MO, Carolyn (Jim) Ryan, Lee’s Summit; former wife Kate Miller, Overland Park, KS; and lifelong partner-in-crime Jim (Annie) Sheridan, Kansas City, MO.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Heart of America Alzheimer’s Association, 3846 W 75th Street, Prairie Village, KS 66208, or https://www.alz.org/kansascity.