With the recent passing of former Carmel Middle School math teacher David Miller in October, students, parents and faculty all around Carmel Unified School District have been in mourning.
According to CMS Principal Ken Griest, Miller went into cardiac arrest while on a trip to England, and on Oct. 12 he died in a hospital in his home state of Texas after being flown into the United States.
Miller, 63, had been in a coma and didn’t regain consciousness before his death.
At CHS, many students who had Miller for math, mainly current seniors who had him in their eighth grade year, have been reflecting on him as a teacher and as a person, and they are quick to compliment the experiences in his class.
“He was such a great man,” says senior Kenna Little, who had Miller as a math teacher for two years. “One thing I remember about him is all the time in math class in eighth grade he would start talking to us about college… And it’s really weird because now is the time that we’re all concerned about this, and I’ve actually been thinking about him a lot lately.”
Miller is continually noted by CHS students as educating CMS students in ways far beyond their years, but this did anything but detract from his kind personality.
“He was just a really great guy,” senior Justin DePalatis adds. “He was just happy all the time… That’s what I got all the time when I went to class. Just relaxed and happy.”
Miller taught at CMS for seven years, and his students, as well as his peers, highly respected him.
“Mr. Miller was so funny,” Little reflects. “He was just this jolly man, and he brought so much joy to our lives.”
Little also remembers Miller’s kind and supportive disposition in class.
“He always had so much faith in all of us and in all of our potential, and being in his Honors class, he just absolutely loved us, and he had so much passion in his teaching,” Little adds.
A memorial was held for Miller in his hometown, Midland, Texas, and Griest, among others, is working on remembering Miller with an event to collect books for donation to underprivileged Monterey students.
“David was a voracious reader and loved to read to young children to pass along his love of reading and literature,” Griest says.
Miller is survived by his wife of six years and former CMS Language Arts teacher, Kathy Favor.
-Carissa Redfield
