Herbert Nathan Miller passed away on December 17th, 2020 just one month shy of 
his 85th birthday. He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the youngest of three children of Lee Richard Miller and Catherine Jane (Traver).
He served two years in the army in California before earning a degree in Political Science in 1965 from Michigan State University. He then began a lifelong career in Foreign Service with the US State Department working for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In 1966 he began a five year assignment as Community Development Advisor in southern Laos. He then served as the Chief of the Community Development Division for all of Laos.
In 1976 he became the USAID Program Officer in Niamey, Niger and in 1980 continued as Program Officer in Yaounde, Cameroon, going on to become Deputy Mission Director for Cameroon. In the summer of 1985, he transferred to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso as Mission Director and served there until July 1989 after which he returned to Washington, D.C after almost 14 years in Africa.
While in Washington he served in a variety of capacities including short-term assignments in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mauritania, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Pakistan and Indonesia. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, he served with a group who were the first American officials into the newly independent country of Moldova. Subsequent to that he helped open the first USAID Missions in Ukraine, Armenia and Kazakhstan.
After his retirement in April, 1994 as a Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service, Herb undertook a three-month contract to open the USAID post in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and a six-month contract to open the USAID post in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Herb remained active in the community of retired USAID hands and greatly enjoyed opportunities to reconnect with former colleagues.
Outside of work, Herb’s family was his life. He extensively researched his genealogy and wrote a detailed history chronicling the discoveries he made. During his Thanksgiving toast one year, he proclaimed he had traced his lineage back to the Mayflower, and that we were certified official members of the Mayflower Society!
Herb has now joined his parents, brother, Chuck, and sister, LouEllen, along with the generations of ancestors he memorialized in his studies. His infectious smile, wise counsel, and unconditional love lives on in the hearts of his wife of 50 years, Martha, his children Christine (John) Moore, Jane (Phil) McLaughlin, Matthew (Reena) Miller, and Michael (Lisa) Miller, his grandchildren, Katie, Traver, David, Angelica, Trinity, Krishan, and Maya, and five great grandchildren, Daniel, Charlie, Cooper, Bennett, and Elise. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends who remember him fondly.
Arrangements were handled by Money and King Funeral Home. Online condolences and remembrances can be made on their website: https://www.moneyandking.com/obituaries/Herbert-Nathan-Miller?obId=19423144#/obituaryInfo. A celebration of life and internment took place in his home town of Williamston, Michigan in July of 2021.
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