Duane Miller

Lisbon:
Duane Edie Miller, a man gifted with exquisite penmanship, also enjoyed theology, German hymns, bluegrass and polka music, border collies, gardening, and being a dad. A self-taughtcomputer whiz, he could research the heck out of anything and made immaculate Excel spreadsheets. He died Sept. 5, 2022, in Salem, Ohio, after a long battle with cancer. He was 87. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, on Sept. 5, 1935, he graduated from South High School and later graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Capital University, in Columbus, Ohio. He enjoyed the outdoors and, growing up, he spent time working in Mill Creek Park, in Youngstown, and at
Camp McKinley, in Lisbon, Ohio. After college, he taught in northern Michigan, before joining the U.S. Army for a tour, during the Korean War. He was stationed in Saint Louis, Missouri.
He then went on to work in animal nutrition at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, in Maryland, until he retired in 1992.
He married Cynthia Koonce, in 1968, and began farming. Both were first generation farmers and were married for almost 54 years. He was an active member of the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association and a founding member of the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, in West Friendship, Maryland. In the 1970s, he was honored as Maryland’s Shepherd of the Year.
After retirement, he and his family relocated to Columbiana County, Ohio, where he spent time volunteering as a soccer and music lesson dad, and with Family Radio, in Youngstown. An avid reader, he had an extensive library of theological and non fiction works he enjoyed exploring in
his later years.
He is survived by his wife, Cynthia Koonce, and daughter, Rebecca Miller, both of Lisbon, Ohio, and nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Edie and Virginia Miller, and his brother, Owen Miller, and sister, Mardell Miller Ritter.
A remembrance of life service will be at 11 a.m., Oct. 1, at Martin Luther Lutheran Church, 420 Clearmount Ave., Youngstown, OH 44511. Calling hours will be at 10 a.m. prior to the service.
In his memory, donations can be sent to the Martin Luther Lutheran Church Memorial Fund, 420 Clearmount Ave, Youngstown, OH 44432. Checks should be made out to Martin Luther Lutheran Church, and marked “Duane Miller/Memorial Fund” in the memo line, in order to
further the work of the Hope Community Garden. Friends and family may share their online condolences at www.deansfuneralhome.com/admin. Arrangements are entrusted to Dean's Funeral Home Sebring, Ohio.