Alan Robert Miller

Alan Robert Miller, age 89, born to Robert and Mae Miller in Alameda, California, passed on July 1, 2021. He was a resident of Socorro for 45 years before moving to La Vida Llena (LVL) in Albuquerque in 2012. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mary Louise Miller; daughter, Heidi Sims; and son, Sheldon of Albuquerque; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.  His parents and his brother Paul preceded him in death.

Mr. Miller was raised in the CA East Bay where he attended UC Berkeley, receiving Bachelors' degrees in Forestry and Ceramic Engineering and a PhD in Engineering. He was a Corning Fellow and a member of Tau Beta Phi honor society, American Chemical Society, and Sigma Xi-for which he was the director for the southwest district for many years. He served in the Army Ordnance in Korea, where he attained the rank of Captain. In 1967, he became a Professor at NM Tech and semi-retired in 2000; he chaired and oversaw the certification of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Many students he taught over 33 years kept in touch by e-mail or visits when on campus.

Mr. Miller became intrigued by computers when they were first developed in Albuquerque-they would arrive as a box of parts that he had to assemble and configure himself. He enjoyed it so much that he moved onto all the advanced Microsoft systems. Mr. Miller wrote 26 books for Wylie and Sybex Publishers on computer operation and engineering computer techniques, all of which were later translated into 20 foreign languages. Thanks to his profession as a college teacher and the winter and summer breaks, the Millers were able to travel to over 50 different countries-his personal favorite, Japan. Mr. Miller had a special talent for teaching himself languages including Japanese and German.

In his final years, Mr. Miller recounted his life stories to his family. "My life was about helping people and making life better for other people," he said. One night, he reminisced about how he could have gone into the Microsoft company with Bill Gates who he assisted when Microsoft was a fledgling company. "But I lived in Socorro and built a house at the top of a hill with my family. I walked ten minutes across the golf course to my office to teach every day. It was pleasant. You go to work in a big city, and you're driving in your car all day. So, if I had a billion dollars, what would I do with it? I think I took the better way of life. Money isn't everything. You've got to enjoy life."

The family would like to thank the nurses and aides at LVL who made the end of his life as comfortable as possible. Mr. Miller was ever grateful to each person and the amount of joy, hope, and life that they brought to him and to his family in a difficult time.

Cremation has taken place and memorial services will be announced later.