Obituary of Dennis Alan Miller

Dennis Alan Miller

July 6, 1949 - December 18, 2023

Dennis Alan Miller - family-man, husband, grandfather, friend, engineer, carpenter and avid sportsman, passed away on Monday, December 18, 2023, at the age of 74, after a long battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his beautiful, loving family.

He is survived by his wife, Janice, and three children; Nathan, Katelyn, Christopher and his partner Jonna, as well as his 3 grandchildren; Tulsi, Jazz and Asa.

Dennis was born in Middletown, Connecticut to Arthur William Henry Miller and Luella Cora Miller (née Hayes). He lived there his entire childhood with his brother, Richard, and sister, Carol.

After graduating Woodrow Wilson High School, he went on to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering and as a True Gentleman, with Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

After graduating college, he started work for what would become a 52-year career at the Brunalli Construction Company as their Chief Engineer and Estimator. He worked on over 250 roads and bridges during his life, up and down the I-84, I-91 and I-95 corridors, throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

It was at Brunalli Construction Company where he met his wife in 1985. They married soon after in 1987. Janice had Nathan, who at 11 years old quickly became a loved son, recognizing and calling him Dad for the rest of his life. In 1988 and 1990, Dennis and Janice were blessed with 2 more children, Christopher and Katelyn.

Throughout his life, with all 3 of his children and many of their friends, he is widely remembered as a loving, dedicated family man. He did as much work as he could around his house, and the homes of others, in order to make things easier and more comfortable for those he loved and cared for.

In his adulthood, Dennis had a love of all things building. After moving from Chicopee to Palmer, Massachusetts in 1994, he spent a lot of his free time working on and modifying the house he designed for his family.

He loved to create things alongside his family which included starting several businesses and developing properties. From designing harvesting systems for algae to building greenhouses or renovating homes, he was happiest when solving problems and spending time with his loved ones.

Dennis also loved sports (basketball, golf, baseball, tennis, football, Connecticut State Champion racquetball player) and was actively involved in his children’s sports and activities. He was present at nearly every practice and never missed a game. Often, he was the coach. Dennis was known for being passionate, often giving lots of feedback during and after the games. He loved all things math or word puzzles. He loved blackjack, practiced often in his youth, and ended up playing in over 40 casinos throughout the world with friends and family.

Dennis was a humble, disciplined, loving and selfless man, who was modest and intentional in just about every aspect of his life. He kept track of everything, whether it was what casinos he went to, meticulous budgets, or records of every phone bill and pay stub for 20 years.

He loved to travel the world with his wife, take walks in nature, explore new waterways with his kayak, and in retirement, was a budding nature photographer with his first smartphone, acquired this year in 2023.

Dennis was a true model husband; from lovingly bringing Janice coffee every morning to driving straight home from work every night to spend time with her and the family they created together. They were best friends and laughed together everyday until he passed.

To know him was to love him and if you didn’t love him, you simply didn’t know him.

Dennis will never be gone, he lives in the everyday thoughts, prayers and actions of his loving family and friends.

We love you.

Calling hours will be held on Saturday, December 30th from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm followed by a service of remembrance at 1:00 pm at the Beers and Story Palmer Funeral Home, 1475 N. Main St., Palmer, MA 01069.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Jimmy Fund - https://www.jimmyfund.org/