Timothy Allen Miller

Timothy Allen Miller, affectionately known as “Bobby” by his family, passed away suddenly at his home on December 14, 2021 at the age of 71. Tim was larger than life and loved his family more than anything. Second to his family, he loved his lake, where he enjoyed fishing and “bobbing” in the water chatting with friends and family.

Tim was born to Gertrude (Weis) Miller and Joseph Miller in Fargo, ND on August 18, 1950. He was the fourth child of six siblings: Joel (Mary) Miller, Lawrence "Larry" (Joanne) Miller, Thomas "Tom" (Shirley) Miller, Michael "Mike" (Pattie) Miller, and Mary Lou McGraw.

He contracted polio at the age of two and thankfully survived with minor issues. At the age of 14 he left home living first with brother Joel and his family and later his brother Larry and his family. That is when he met his first wife, Kristine (Beschta) Brockes (West Cape May, NJ). They were united in marriage on December 7, 1968. Together they had two children, Tina (Mark) Rowden of Dixon, MO, and Tricia “Trish” Miller (Michael Lanzone) of West Cape May, NJ. Tim's number one responsibility and priority was and has always been his family, working hard sometimes at three jobs to make ends meet. After a couple of years, he discovered that sales were his forte – he could talk anyone’s language and could easily sell ice to an Eskimo!

After a promotion with Wausau Homes in 1978, he moved the family to Auburn, IL and a year later to Holiday Shores (Edwardsville), IL where they purchased their first lake house in 1979. Tim loved water and water-skiing and shared this love with his kids. After Tim and Kris went their separate ways, Tim met the love of his life, the “Good Lady”, Jacqueline Goodman (Milan, IL). United in marriage on April 16, 1981, they would spend the next 40 years together. Shortly thereafter, Tim found his sales passion in the RV manufacturing industry as a representative selling RVs to dealers across the country first for Road Ranger (McPherson, KS), then King of the Road (Russel, KS), and finally, Forest River (Elkhart, IN) from which he retired in 2015.

Over those 33 years, he would put on more than a million miles crisscrossing the country visiting and selling to RV dealerships. He made almost as many friends as the miles he drove. On those travels, he would go out of his way to stop by to see family and friends near his route. And he knew the roads like no one else. He could tell us how to get anywhere without looking at a map. He was our personal Google Map before Google Maps existed!

After living in McPherson, KS from 1985-1988, they returned to Jacque’s hometown in Moline, IL. He and Jacque eventually bought the property at nearby Kelsey Lake in 1995. Together they built their dream home as a retreat not only for the two of them, but for their immediate and extended family and friends. Tim’s number two lake rule (after no splashing Grandma) was “there’s no fun at Kelsey Lake.” Well, there was never, ever any fun at the lake! For over 25 years, there were many raucous family reunions that brought the Miller Clan together. We enjoyed pig roasted on his dad’s famous barbeque pit, Tim’s famous fries, “bobbing” in the lake (which was led, of course, by Bobby and included only a few beers and his famous "old fashioneds"), karaoke, dangerous games of spoons, among many other activities that were absolutely no fun. Nothing made Tim happier than bringing together the Miller Clan.

Many great memories were also made soaking in the hot tub, another one of Tim’s favorite things to do. Many of us spent endless hours chatting away and telling our secrets to Tim as he offered unsolicited advice. Somehow this all came out in the hot tub. His grandkids, Kristi Rowden (Dixon, MO), Megan (Zach) Begner, (Oshkosh, WI), Stephen (Monet Farhat) Rowden (Dallas, TX), Phoebe and Willow Lanzone (West Cape May, NJ) would spend endless hours in the hot tub with him jumping and playing, and yes, splashing Grandpa, but never having any fun. Before passing he was excited to learn that he would become a great-grandpa to "Baby Begner" arriving in April 2022.

Tim became an avid Packer fan in the 1960s, thanks to his beloved father-in-law, Carl Beschta. He was even fortunate enough to buy season tickets from friends he made in the RV business. Whenever family was around or he had an extra ticket, he would take guests to a game, most often around Christmas when it was freezing cold. Somehow, Tim never got cold even when the rest of us were nearly frozen solid. One of his favorite Packer buddies was the “son he never had,” his great-nephew Jacob Miller of Fargo, ND. The two of them have more than a few stories to tell. Nearly everyone in Tim’s family circle has great memories from attending a game with him at Lambeau (where we were allowed to have fun).

Tim’s positive attitude and generous nature have touched the lives of those near and far. He will be deeply missed by family and friends across the country. In addition to those mentioned above, Tim is survived by his Aunt Viola “Vi” Miller (Galesburg, ND), his brother in law, Terry Goodman (Galesburg, IL), and a slew of beloved cousins, nieces, and nephews. Preceding him in death were his parents, three older brothers, Joel, Larry, and Tom, nephew, Joel, Jr., niece, Darcy, father-in-law, Vernon Goodman, and brother-in-law, Raymond Goodman.

Memorials may be made to Project SNOWstorm in c/o Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art

176 Water Company Rd.

Millersburg PA 17061

Family and friends are invited to share memories and express online condolences on Tim's memory wall.