A Debt of Gratitude for Doris and John Miller

By Katharine Atkins, Director of Advancement

As Country Day parents and neighbors, living just across Carmel Road, Doris and John Miller built lasting memories for student-athletes during the 1970s. The Miller backyard was the place to be before home football games, as they regularly hosted cookouts for team parents, players, coaches, faculty, and staff. The sense of camaraderie generated during those gatherings left a lasting impression on the student-athletes and coaches of that era, and Doris and John remained lifelong cheerleaders and advocates for our school long after their sons John ’74 and Tommy ’79 graduated.

Doris and John were charter members of the Honorary Alumni Association, served on the Board of Visitors, and chaired the Annual Fund Grandparents division. In 2003, they were inducted into the Athletics Hall of Honor for their decades of service and devotion to athletics programming at Country Day.

In addition to their incredible service to the school, Doris and John were very thoughtful with their philanthropy. They supported the Annual Fund for a remarkable 54 consecutive years and were one of the founding families to join our Oak Society when it was established in 1982.

The couple recognized the simple and strong philanthropic potential planned giving realizes and they championed and encouraged others to include Country Day in their estate plans. In fact, John served on the school’s first Planned Giving subcommittee of the Board of Trustees. In an issue of Perspectives, the couple said, “Our support continued even when we did not have family members here because we appreciate the school for more than what it gave our children. We continue to give because the school has brought a lot to the city of Charlotte and the surrounding area. The quality of the students turned out by Charlotte Country Day School helps the entire city.”

Forty-one years after including us in their estate plans, Doris and John’s planned gift was received by the school this December. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Millers for their sustaining and forward-thinking investment in our school community.

Doris and John’s legacy remains at cookouts before athletic games, lives on through their generosity toward our Endowment, and will always be remembered for fostering an instrumental culture of service for decades.