Lawrence E. Miller's Obituary
Lawrence E. Miller, age 82 of North Redington Beach, Florida and formerly of Batesville, died Thursday, March 2009, at his Florida residence. Born February 18, 1927 in Morris, Indiana, he is the son of Loretta (Nee: Holdgreive) and Arthur Miller Sr. He married Marcella “Sally” Wettering May 30, 1952 at St. Louis Church in Batesville. After his baseball career, he worked for Bohn Aluminum for 33 years before retiring in 1988. While Larry had many interests, his true passion was baseball. Signed by Cincinnati Reds as a left handed pitcher, he attended spring training in 1944. In 1945 he was inducted into the Navy during World War II and resumed his baseball career after the service in 1947. He played in the farm system for the Reds, the Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators before chronic rotator cuff problems forced him to retire in 1954. Being handy, he built his first home himself. Adept at fixing things and being fiscally conservative, he made men everywhere proud by using duct tape to solve many of life’s little issues. Although arm problems forced him to retire from professional baseball, he continued to play locally in the Tri-County League until the late 1960’s and Old Timer games after that. He enjoyed being outdoors whether it was gardening, trimming shrubs or washing the car. He and Sally moved to Florida in 1995 and he liked being on the beach and the 3:30 break for a beer on the patio. He dearly loved his grandchildren and was quite a little prankster with them. An avid photographer, he has numerous photo albums and scrapbooks filled with pictures that provide a chronological pictorial of the family. He started each day off with the newspaper and was a student of history who was a stickler for accuracy. So it is no surprise he watched a lot of the History Channel, but on the lighter side, the T.V. program “Frasier” was a favorite that he made many family members fans of also. In later years, he took up working crossword puzzles as well as dominoes and cards. He especially looked forward to the Friday night card parties and a spirited game of euchre or hearts.He is survived by his wife Sally, daughter Pam Nordmeyer of Batesville; sons Tom of Batesville, Scott of Carmel, Indiana; brothers Arthur, Earl and Bruce Miller, all of Batesville and five grandchildren. In addition to his parents, he is also preceded in death by his brother Floyd.Visitation is Tuesday, March 31st, from 9-11 a.m. at the funeral home. Funeral services follow at 11:30 a.m. at St. Louis Church with Rev. Dennis Duvelius officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery with military graveside rites conducted by the Batesville V.F.W. Post #3183 and the Prell-Bland American Legion Post #271. Memorials may be made to the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast.
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