Max R. Miller, 88, of Higganum, beloved husband of 62 years to Rosemary (Roberts) Miller, passed away on Monday October 21, 2024, at his home.

He was born in Poughkeepsie, NY, son of the late Max H. and Ruth (Tanner) Miller. Max was a proud veteran serving with the US Army Reserve for 38 ½ years, earning the rank of Sargeant Major. He retired from working with the Valley Railroad in Essex where he held many positions. He was the VRR historian and author of the "Along the Valley Line". His love for railroads lasted all his life.

Max is survived by his wife Rosemary, and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and siblings, Leona Callahan, Delna Moran, Barney and Donald Miller.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday (Oct. 24th) at 11 a.m. at Biega Funeral Home, 3 Silver St., Middletown.  Burial with military honors will be held at Burr District Cemetery. Friends may call at Biega Funeral Home on Thursday from 10 to 11 a.m. Those who wish may send memorial contributions to St. Peter Church, PO Box 707, Higganum, CT 06441 or a charity of the donor's choice. To share memories or express condolences online please visit www.biegafuneralhome.com .

The following thoughts and memories have been shared by Rob Bradway, Dick Otto, and Paul Costello.

Max was the Track Foreman (his term) for the railroad from the mid-1980's until his planned retirement in 1998 at age 62. In the 7 years I worked under Max he taught me more than just how to repair and maintain a railroad – for as much as I learned from him about the railroad I learned volumes more about myself and about people, he was an example of how to "be". He was, in my mind, a gentleman of the old school, a humble man whose humility arose from his own confidence. A kind, gentle, strong man. Valuable traits when engaging with the multitude of railroad neighbors who didn't exactly share the traveling public's enchantment with the smoke-belching, loud steam trains rolling by their backyards. Valuable traits in just being a thoughtful person. Those are life-lessons that I have carried until today, taught by the strong, quiet, confident Max Miller. I am far from alone in being a recipient of those lessons from him.

Trustworthy and reliable - those of us who were of the generation following trusted Max. If Max said something was so, then that was it, we could take it to the bank. He was generous with sharing his knowledge, willing to answer questions, and willing to let the young guns give it a try or make a mistake, but always there to help correct and guide to keep them out of trouble. "First to arrive, last to go home" old-school, someone we all aspired to.

Max was a child of the Great Depression, uphill both ways in the snow barefooted if you will, where anything you had might be the last one of that thing you'd ever have. He treated his responsibility to the track that way – wasting nothing, reusing anything, and being thankful for anything he had when he could get it. He would physically labor if it meant saving a dollar, or saving the machine. Selfless. It was how he was wired. He'd stop along the railroad anywhere – anytime – to pick up an empty soda bottle. Not only to keep the rail line pristine, but to recover the 5-cent bottle deposit – "Miller nickels" as we would call them. Doing this he cleverly collected tens of thousands of dollars for the restoration of Locomotive #10, of which he was a partner in ownership. We often joked about what the $$ value was of the brake shoes expended in such stops – but the rail line (and everything around it) was spotless, and nothing was wasted.

In similar vein, he would climb down into a coal-carrying rail car and shovel out the very last nugget of coal, because "we paid for it, and they'll charge you extra if you don't send the railcar back clean". It was in the very bowels of one of those coal cars that I interviewed with Max to ultimately succeed him. Ironic in a way. I didn't just want his job when he was done with it, I wanted to be like him.

His pursuit of the history of the Valley Line from Fenwick to Hartford is the consummate collection for that railroad. His research resides in the Thomas Dodd Library at the University of Connecticut, and was distilled later in his life into a book with the help of fellow Valley Railroad Paul Costello. Max would spend hours (hundreds of hours) in every library between Old Saybrook and Hartford going through decades of microfilm, looking at all of the local newspapers dating back to 1869 looking for ANYTHING making reference to the railroad. And then he painstakingly copied it. Through the years he was much sought-after for giving talks to local historical societies, and he could cull from his research items that were specific to each town he was presenting to. Without doubt the authoritative source of the history of the entire Valley line. His book is as factual and practical as it is personal – just like the man himself.