Richard James Miller, age 64, passed away on April 23, 2023, surrounded by his wife, Julie, and dog, Rudy, after a difficult battle with Parkinson’s Disease.

Richard was born in Spokane, WA, on July 2, 1958 to Evelyn and Alois Miller. He attended Gonzaga Preparatory High School where he competed in tennis and ignited his lifelong passion for the sport. Following high school, he hopped on a plane for the first time to South Bend, Indiana to attend his dream school, The University of Notre Dame. He reminisced fondly on his days cheering for the Fighting Irish during their “golden era” of football. He graduated in 1980, the day after Mt. St Helens blew up, with a degree in Metallurgical engineering from Notre Dame.

He started working for Boeing immediately after graduation as a metallurgist in the Defense division. During these initial years, he attended night school and received his MBA from Seattle University in 1986. He was placed on multiple assignments throughout his career as an engineer, being promoted to a manager in 1990, and promoted again to Senior manager for the F-22 before pivoting to the commercial division for the 787 Dreamliner and quality leader for the 777. In 2003, he began his challenging chapter of Kent to Everett commutes which lasted until he retired in 2015. During this time, he drove approximately ¼ million miles on 405 and I-5! His final project for the Boeing Company was working as the Executive Quality Director for the KC-46 Tanker. In his spare time while working, he taught as an adjunct instructor for City University where he taught both undergraduates and graduates at the business school.

Julie and Richard were married for 36 wonderful years. They went on to have their one daughter, Chloe Marie. Richard cared deeply for all of those involved in his life. He was a loving husband, a supportive father, and a source of laughter to his friends. He enjoyed traveling with his wife and friends, helping his daughter with her science fair projects, and attending all of Chloe’s tennis and volleyball matches. He was passionate about tennis and loved getting to watch his daughter play (and occasionally playing doubles with her) at Kennedy High School and the Boeing Tennis Club.

In June 2015, Richard was promoted to a retiree after 36 years of service to Boeing. According to him, his first month of retirement only included one power nap and one episode of Gunsmoke. While retired, Richard enjoyed spreading out his time between his faith, his family, and his love for tennis. Richard devoted countless hours to various organizations within the Catholic church and enjoyed giving his time to better his community. He enjoyed dusting off his calculator and tutoring elementary students in South Seattle through Catholic Community Services. He also greatly enjoyed volunteering at St. Stephen the Martyr’s food bank and Northwest Harvest. Post-retirement, he was very active playing tennis several times a week at the Boeing Tennis Club. He checked off his bucket list items of visiting the US Open and Indian Wells tennis tournament with his wife and daughter.

Richard was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2016 which greatly impacted his quality of life and ultimately cut his life short. He will always be remembered for his sense of humor, his affectionate smile, and his devotion to his family and his faith. He enjoyed every chapter of his life and treasured those that he loved.

Richard was predeceased by his parents, Evelyn and Alois. He is survived by his wife, Julie, his daughter, Chloe (Corbin), his siblings Daryl (Carol), Duane, Dan, Cathy (Doug), Dean (Kelly), and Tami (Ray), and his mother and father-in-law, Roxy and Alan England. Richard was a beloved husband, father, son-in-law, father-in-law, son, brother, uncle, and friend. He impacted the lives of so many and he will greatly be missed.

His memorial will be held at St. John’s Baptist Catholic Church in Covington, WA on May 12, 2023 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Richard’s name to Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, an organization that was near to his heart.

You can read more about the organization here: https://ccsww.org/about-us/

To make a donation in Richard’s name, please use this link: https://ccsww.org/donate-king…

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