Clarke C. Miller

Clarke C Miler died surrounded by family and friends on Friday, January 23, 2026, at his home in Bloomington. He was born on September 29, 1937, in St. Louis, MO, the son of Clarke and Rhoda (Hornish) Miller. He grew up in Hammond, IN. After 3 years attending Indiana University and Purdue University, he received a B.A. and M.A. in philosophy from Mt. St Mary's Seminary in Norwood, OH. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1964 and served as a parish priest in Northwest Indiana until 1970. He was chairman of the Hammond Human Relations Commission furthering racial equality. He also taught religion at Bishop Noll High School in Hammond, Indiana, where he met his wonderful and very much loved future wife, Sister Maria (Mary Frances Brennan). They were married on September 4, 1971. He received an M.S. in Counseling Psychology from DePaul University, Chicago in 1972 and he directed social service and family planning organizations in Indianapolis. In 1982, he received a M.B.A from the University of Indianapolis. From 1983 until 1995 he managed nursing homes and a retirement community in Ohio, Illinois, and Texas. In 1995 he retired to Bloomington where he was an enthusiastic landscaper converting his lawn into a bird sanctuary. He delighted in watching birds. He relished tutoring grade school children for many years. He was an avid hiker, and enjoyed IU symphonic concerts. For fifteen years, he passionately provided voluntary leadership to Compassion & Choices of Indiana promoting expanded options for compassionate dying. He gave talks on death with dignity to over two thousand college students. He and Mary assisted over a dozen international IU graduate students in adapting to life here and became lifelong friends with a number of them. Clarke greatly admired the wisdom teacher, Jesus. He was very fond of "the Serenity Prayer." Above all, he was extremely grateful to the Great Spirit of Love that flowed through him, everyone else and every thing. He was especially grateful for his wife's unconditional love. He loved her greatly. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Lynn Lawson of Toronto, Canada. He is survived by his wife, Mary Brennan Miller, brother, Rich Miler (Pat Nassano) of Superior, Colorado, sister-in-law, Peggy McNamara of Carmel, IN, and nieces and nephews. He is especially grateful to his niece, Meg McNamara, for her special, loving help during his last years. A service will be held on Saturday, 2/21 at 11am at The Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington. ( http://www.uubloomington.org/ ) In lieu of flowers pleas make donations to The Nature Conservancy ( https://preserve.nature.org )

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Clarke C. Miller

September 29, 1937 - January 23, 2026