October 2022 Honor A Deceased Veteran – Robert Miller

Robert E. Miller
1945-2022

FAMILY HISTORY:
Robert E. “Bob” Miller was born on July 15, 1945 in Mooers, New York to the late Robert and Clare (Hiermeier) Miller and was 1 of 15 children.

EDUCATION:
Bob attended Ellenburg schools from 1950-1961 before deciding to enlist in the Army.

HISTORY:
On December 30, 1963, Bob enlisted in the United States Army and served with the 101^st Airborne Division as a paratrooper. For his service, he received the National Defense Service Medal, and on April 12, 1968 Bob was honorably discharged from the Army.

PERSONAL:
Bob lived in and married his first wife, Anna Elmore, in London in 1967 and together they had a daughter Lucy. Bob moved to Troy, New York in 1971, and in 1977 he married his second wife, Lorraine Grzyboski. Together they had children: Shannon, Melissa, Kelly, Shelly, Shawn and Kimberly who sadly passed away as an infant. He was a loving grandfather to 17 grandchildren and left behind his most loyal companion, his dog Lily. Bob married his third wife, Linda Hastings, on April 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

WORK EXPERIENCE:
Bob and his second wife, Lorraine were very active in the boxing world and together opened the Uncle Sam Boxing Club, where they began their career in boxing. Bob ran his club out of its original location in Troy for 25 years. He was a trainer and a cut man, and Lorraine was the promoter. They ran hundreds of amateur boxing shows locally and then began running professional shows as well. They even ran shows for Mike Tyson at the beginning of his career. After retiring from Shaker High School in 2002 after 25 years, Bob moved back to Altona, New York with his third wife, Linda and built his house and boxing gym there.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES/ORGANIZATIONS:
Bob was very well known in the community and his boxing club helped thousands of youth and adults throughout the years, he even offered free boxing classes for kids. Bob committed all of his life to advancing the sport of boxing and influenced many to make choices that led to a better life. He even had extra rooms at his boxing club that he let people who didn’t have much stay at for free or next to nothing. He was inducted into the NYS Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015 and was a proud member of the VFW.

Bob was still very active in the boxing world, traveling all over the world as a cut man for fighters until his car accident on October 15, 2016. Sadly, Bob was left paralyzed from the chest down, however, he did not let this stop him from living his life to the fullest. He continued to do small boxing shows, traveling to events and his grandkid’s games. Bob was always active in his family’s lives and was a loving, funny, amazing father and rarely ever missed his children’s sporting events or activities. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, the peacefulness of country living, had a great sense of humor and was an avid sports fan who loved the Jets and Mets. Bob was a devoted husband to his loving wife, Linda, who never left his side.

Sadly, on April 29, 2022 Bob passed away.

Honor A Deceased Veteran Ceremony will be held in the Legislative Chambers of the Rensselaer County Legislature.

For questions or application information, please contact the Legislature at 518-270-2880.