Dr. George T. Miller, 91, passed away on May 13, 2025, surrounded by his family. George was born on November 28, 1933, in Gatewood, Missouri, to parents Mildred and Bynum Miller. After growing up in Thayer, Missouri, driving a truck for a couple of years after high school, then serving on an aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy, George graduated from William Jewell College. While he was in college, George pastored the First Baptist Church of Worth, Missouri. Dona Walker’s family attended the Worth church, and when their daughter needed a ride home from Union Station in Kansas City, George volunteered to pick her up. Through the years he was fond of singing the words from the old rhythm and blues song, “Kansas City, they got some pretty little women there, and I’m gonna get me one,” followed with, “And I did!” Dona and George were married October 2, 1959. He went on to seminary, where he completed his master’s and doctorate degrees. He led churches, big and small, mostly in Missouri, but also in Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, Texas, and Colorado. Besides being a pastor, he served camps, congregations, and communities all over the U.S. and internationally through mission trips and revivals. When he retired, George and Dona returned to Springfield, where they were members of First Baptist Church.

George had a passion for preaching the gospel. He was driven by a deep love for the Lord, for people, and for telling the truth, no matter how hard it was to hear. Through the years, he got frustrated with hypocrisy and politics in the church, and yearned for a time when it was all about grace, love, and forgiveness. His words and deeds weren’t always what you wanted, but nearly always what you needed.

George was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Neva Fraley, and his brother, John. He is survived by his wife, Dona; his daughter, Brieta Self, grandson, Louis, and great-granddaughter, Lucy, of Mackinaw, IL, and bonus granddaughters Shanna Strauss, of Tahlequah, OK, and Stephanie Bowers, of Cabot, AR, and their families; his son and daughter-in-law, Brett and Betsy Miller, granddaughter and her husband, Carsen and Kevin Prather, and great-grandson, Emmett, all of Springfield; granddaughter, Cassidy Miller of Kansas City; sister, Patsy Hatman, of Thayer, and numerous other family members. Visitation will be at Greenlawn South Funeral Home, Springfield, on Sunday, May 18, at 1:00, with a service to follow at 2:00. A private burial will follow later in the week at Missouri Veterans Cemetery.