Gastonia polio doctor died at 99

A longtime Gaston County resident, doctor, veteran and community volunteer died just days before his 100th birthday.

Dr. George Rolfe Miller peacefully died of old age Saturday. Wednesday was his 100th birthday.

Miller was born in Albion, New York, on Sept. 30, 1920, and raised during the Great Depression by his parents, George and Edith Miller.

Determined from the start, Miller began his studies at University of Rochester at age 16, enrolled in the university’s medical school three years later and graduated with his medical degree in 1943.

Before completing a pediatrics internship and orthopedics residency at Duke University, Miller served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the last few years of World War II.

The polio epidemic would eventually bring Miller to work in and around Gastonia, said his daughter, Ann Miller Pardue.

From 1950 to his retirement in 1986, Miller worked at numerous hospitals - most of that time spent at the North Carolina Orthopedic Hospital in Gastonia. He educated more than 50 young doctors in children’s orthopedics along the way. He was also the chief of staff at Gaston Memorial Hospital, now CaroMont Regional Medical Center.

Following his retirement, Miller and his wife, Judith, dedicated their time to Gaston County organizations, including Crisis Assistance Ministry, the Gaston Community Foundation, United Way and many others.

Miller and Judith raised two children, Pardue of Mooresville and Rolfe Miller of Louisiana. Pardue said as a child, she knew her father was a doctor, but the scope of his impact in Gaston County became clearer and she grew up.

Though Miller was a busy man, Pardue said he always made time for his children, working around the house and just being a father.

“He loved going to the beach. He loved to go fishing, and that’s one of my favorite memories of him as a kid. Fishing with him, surf casting with him,” said Pardue, now 63. “He was dad. He was the guy with a twinkle in his eye and a sense of humor.”

Pardue also remembers her father, a varsity swimmer in college, completing the Presidential Physical Fitness exercises before going to work each day and sticking to a low-cholesterol diet.

“I mean, who worried about that in the 1950s?” Pardue laughed. “He was active, doing things until he turned 93, when he was still working in the yard.”

Miller is preceded in death by Judith, his wife of 59 years. He’s survived by his two children, five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Crisis Assistance Ministry (805 W. Airline Ave., Gastonia), Gaston Community Foundation (1201 E. Garrison Blvd., Gastonia) or to a charity of your choice.

You can reach Gavin Stewart at 704-869-1819 or on Twitter @GavinGazette.