Weren't You... Terry Miller?

Bill Moor revisits the long-time owner of the Highland and Riverview Cemeteries

BY BILL MOOR // POSTED FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Terry Miller and his wife Paula will soon be moving to Minnesota — where they first met and where two of their children live — but Terry leaves behind a legacy in South Bend that is nearly unapproachable.

He is South Bend to the core. He can even trace his roots back to the Muessels, one of the first prominent families in South Bend during the 1800s.

Terry grew up in the guts of the city… served as a patrol boy at Jefferson School… became an Eagle Scout with the Order of the Arrow at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church… stood out on the basketball court at Adams High School… came back to South Bend, married, and became a coach and teacher at LaSalle High School… earned his Masters at Notre Dame while working part-time in Pupil Personnel for the South Bend school corporation… gave comfort to families when he owned and managed two local cemeteries… served as a Common Council member… was a member of several local boards and…

…well, you get the picture. Now let's start from the beginning.

Terry was the youngest of three sons born to Marlin and Louise Miller. They resided on Bellevue Avenue until he was 14 and then moved to nearby Southwood Avenue — both homes within walking distance to Adams High and Potawatomi Park. Even now, he and Paula are only a neighborhood away from his childhood homes. They have lived on East Wayne Street for the last 53 years.

Terry and his family didn't have to travel very far to their church, Sunnyside Presbyterian Church, either. He was born and raised in the church and at age 82, he has the longest continuous membership.

Some might kiddingly say he hasn't ventured very far during his life — with him living inside a square mile on South Bend's east side during all but his college years. But he has made an everlasting impact on the city he has always called home sweet home.

“I was born on December 21 (1942), the shortest day of the year,” Terry recently said. “And I've been trying to make up for that (least of productive days) ever since.”

A long and lanky kid, he gravitated to basketball.

“I used to be 6-foot-4 when I was playing, but I've probably shrunk an inch or two since then,” he added with a smile.

He was good enough to play beyond high school at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota where he met Paula, a Minnesota native. “We were in the same French class,” Terry said. "I guess I spotted her and kept her.”

Paula describes it a little differently. “We ended up walking out together after a class and then, when it happened a second time, I wondered, 'Was this by accident?'”

It wasn't. Terry asked her out soon after and a couple of years later, they were married on August 10, 1965.

“I proposed on April Fool's Day,” Terry admitted.

But he was no fool. He had asked for the hand of his perfect mate and they will be married 60 years this August. After graduation, they moved to Terry's hometown where both of them taught — Terry for five years at LaSalle High School and Paula for three years at Adams, Terry's alma mater. She quit when they started their family.

When Terry's parents decided to sell Highland Cemetery on Portage Avenue, he decided to buy it — after helping there in the summers. Not long after, he also bought Riverview Cemetery across the street.

“My great grandfather originally had a farm there, and my ancestors also started the Muessel Brewery,” he said. “I met all kinds of people (while running the cemeteries) and it was a very educational experience. You couldn't predict what would happen from one day to the next.”

During that period in his life, he also decided to run for the Common Council and ended up serving for two four-year terms. He became close friends with future mayor Pete Nemeth and later served as an advisor in his kitchen cabinet.

Along with Nemeth, Terry spearheaded the approval and construction of the South Bend Century Center.

“I have to think that was my biggest and proudest accomplishment on the council,” he added.

While running his businesses — selling the cemeteries in 1996 and then owning two office buildings in Roseland until he retired on his 80th birthday — he also worked part-time as the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Director.

He served on several boards, including for the Juvenile Justice Center, Madison Center, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Session at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church.

Terry always seemed to have something to do.

“And he is a Mr. Fix-It,” Paula said. “I remember when we were in college sitting on a hill and watching the college's new gymnasium being built. Terry was watching the construction very intently to see how it was built.”

In his businesses, he oversaw expansions and construction of new buildings and helped build an addition to his son's lake cottage.

The Millers have always been very social and entertained many of their friends at their Lake Michigan condo that they owned for 35 years.

Of course, their three children and five grandchildren have always brought them great joy. Son Scott and his wife Jodi are teachers in the Minneapolis area. Kari is a retired Penn-Harris Madison teacher now living in the Indianapolis area. Kristi and her husband Brent also are in Minnesota where she is a director of business strategy for Polaris.

Despite all of their kids' activities when they were growing up, Paula was encouraged by Terry to expand her own horizons. That included being a teacher-leader for the People to People organization and traveling with high schoolers in Australia and Europe during several summers.

“Terry has always let me be myself and enjoy my own interests,” Paula said.

As busy as Terry was, he still found time to enjoy such hobbies as bridge, reading, and tennis. When the Hickey family hosted an annual tennis tournament on their court on East Wayne Street, Terry was always one of the favorites to win.

“I remember when he won the event while putting a new roof on our home,“ Paula recalled. “He would come off the roof, play a match, and then return to the roof.”

Maybe he was up and down (the ladder) on that day, but mostly Terry has been Mr. Steady — a dependable guy whose roots run deep here and who helped his hometown flourish.