David Samuel Miller

April 8, 2018

Hello family and friends. Thank you for taking the time to visit this page. Below, please find my tribute to my dad, as posted on facebook. Below that, you can find details and parking suggestions for both the memorial, and the reception afterword, and below that, please find our selection for an organization to donate to, in Dad's memory, in lieu of sending flowers. Again, thank you for your attention, friendship, and love. I am very much looking forward to seeing you all on May 11. Sincerely, Ben Miller Tribute: On Sunday April 7th, 2018, at around 10PM, my dad passed away. He lost a brief but immensely heroic struggle with a failing, seventy-six year old heart. He received astonishingly attentive and respectful care at Toronto General Hospital, and passed away surrounded by me, mom, and Genevieve. For those of you who weren't lucky enough to know him, David Samuel Miller was an astonishingly great man. He came from a kind of adverse childhood that not many of us have had to experience, and he managed to shrug off, (or maybe just ignore? in that marvelous, intensely strong David way) almost all of the daemons that remained with him once he managed to escape. He and my mother separated when I was two, but they still loved each other, and lived mere blocks apart. I was free as a child to go between houses as I wanted. Living alone, never dating again after mom, dad gave me a beautiful half of my childhood. Spoiled me rotten. I was left wanting for nothing. An avid "Boys Club" member in his youth, we built an electric train set the entire size of my bedroom, which folded up onto one wall. He drove me to every single softball game, in Willowdale or further, for 6+ years. He took me to almost every Karate class, for the same amount of time. When I was having a tough time in grade school, he was there, sitting on the bench every day after school, waiting to pick me up, so that I would never be alone. We hung out Sunday mornings and watched cartoons. We talked about baseball, and music, and built Lego together. He would have done all of these things ten times more, each, if that's what I'd wanted. He loved me with such an intensity that it vibrated the air around us. Dad was a cellist, a conductor, a composer, arranger, and music appreciation teacher. In my youth, he conducted the Oakville Symphony, played principal Cello in the North York Symphony, and taught continuing education Music Appreciation classes at George Brown, to adoring elder students. His musical ability was passed to him by his two parents, both of whom were immensely talented classical string players as well. He was an almanac of classical music history. His love for a well-played symphony, a "genius" composer, or a well-danced ballet, again reverberated in the air around him. It was an intensity and passion that growing up seemed normal, but as I spent more time out in the real world, I began to realize how truly ABnormal, how special, how one-of-a-kind, it really was. Music and me were basically everything to dad, after he retired. He came to every show he could, once I was good enough to be able to perform myself. Beaming from ear to ear. Unabashedly sitting in the front row, unapologetically requiring an uninterrupted view of me. In those moments I feel the entire rest of the world could have faded away, and it was just him and me, in a kind of musical bliss-fantasy world. We should all be lucky to feel these things nearly as strongly as he did. Dad's one true daemon that he couldn't fully shrug off, or simply ignore, was the one that prevented him from looking after himself in the same way he could look after me. Every ounce of himself was given to me and there just wasn't enough left to be kind to himself. He gained weight throughout my childhood and teen years, and over the past five years or so, increasingly struggled to leave his apartment. To see a 76-year-old 300+ pound man simply walking around, was an astonishing sight to behold. Everything that didn't align, like the fact that he was diabetic, or the fact that he had sleep apnea, was simply ignored. He just kept living his life. I am tremendously humbled to say that he was able to live out the twilight years of his life, exactly as he wanted to. We hung out and talked about music, and life, just about every weekend. He was truly happy. He virtually never complained. Always positive. Always moving forward. Never looking backward, never still. He had all that he wanted. Dad, the lessons you taught me, and example you set for me have shaped who I am. I am boundlessly grateful for you. We are so similar, that I hardly need a picture or a video of you to remember you. I can look at my own hands, my face, my emotion, passion, heart, mannerisms, expressions, talents, failings, strength, weakness, and the love that I feel for the things that I care about, and hey - there you are. In that sense, although I can never hug you again, I can never be without you. Your struggle is over, but the entire summation of your life is now imprinted, and shining, through me. I will honor your failings, and proudly display your successes in every thing that I do. In this way, it is my life's honor that you can never be forgotten. I love you dad. Thank you for everything you have done for me. Rest In Peace. Memorial information: Please join us in remembering David Miller, my dad, on Friday May 11th, 2018. The memorial will begin at 1PM, at the Heliconian Club, a venue in which my dad has performed. We expect the memorial to conclude around 3PM. You can expect speeches, and several musical performances. Time permitting, at the end of the memorial, we will open up the floor for anyone wishing to also share their thoughts and memories of David. The address: 35 Hazelton Avenue Toronto, Ontario M5R 2E3 Nearest major intersection: Avenue Rd. and Bloor www.heliconianclub.org Travel/parking information, from the Heliconian Club website: By TTC: Take the Cumberland exit at the Bay subway station. Cross the pedestrian crosswalk on Cumberland Street. Walk north along the pedestrian walkway to Yorkville Avenue. Cross Yorkville Avenue and continue on Hazelton Avenue, where you will see The Heliconian Hall on your right-hand side just after Scollard Street. Parking: The Bloor-Yorkville BIA keeps an up-to-date map with prices of pay parking lot options in Yorkville. It can be viewed here: bloor-yorkville.com/directions/ There is also Green P parking available on most of the streets in the neighborhood, and free parking on Hazelton, though it is often at capacity and is limited to one hour before 6 pm. There are temporary loading zones in front of and adjacent to Heliconian Hall, but they are actively patrolled by bylaw officers, and unless you are visibly in the process of loading, the chances of getting a ticket are high in these zones. Reception information: Following the memorial, please join us at Ben and Genevieve's condo party room, (capacity 60) for a chance to unwind, mingle, see some old friends, and maybe even have a drink (or five). There will be catered warm food for dinner (for both carnivores and vegetarians), different alcohol available (although you are welcome to bring your own - there is a fridge), and a beautiful space available to sit and talk. We have the room until midnight, and we will start cleaning it around 11PM. If you do intend to consume alcohol (encouraged), please do not drive!! There is a streetcar stop right out front of the building, and it is a hot zone for Uber and Lyft, both of which generally show up within 3 minutes. The address: 21 Grand Magazine St. 11th floor party room - use buzzer code 1306 for entry On the 11th floor, follow signs for "Amenities" Toronto, ON M5V 1B5 Nearest major intersection: Bathurst and Lakeshore By TTC: Your two best options are the Bathurst streetcar (511) south from Bathurst stn, or the Queen's Quay streetcar (509) west from Union stn. Note - do not take the 510 from Union, as this will turn up Spadina. In both cases exit at the Fleet St. stop, and walk west to Grand Magazine St (TD Bank on the corner). By Car: With the time of day, and an expected shortage of parking spots, we suggest an alternate means of transportation - it will likely be faster than driving! If you do wish to drive however, there are two visitor parking lots for our building, with free visitor parking available on a first come, first serve basis. Both require you to get a parking pass from security in the lobby, and spots will be limited, but you are encouraged to try. The first lot is just north of the building, down a small alley, underneath a terrace. There are several visitor spots there. The second option is on the P1 parking level, which you can access from the back of the building, on Ianuzzi St. Buzz security from the pedestal there, and ask them to let you into P1, and let them know you're here for the 11th floor party room event. Assuming there are spots, they will let you in. You'll still need to get a parking pass from security in the lobby. If both visitor lots are full, there are paid parking lots fairly close, as well as some street parking in the area. For potential street parking, we recommend the area south of Lakeshore - Stadium Rd., Bishop Tutu Blvd., and Little Norway Cres. Please pay very careful attention to parking signs. The area is patrolled often by parking officers and there are many no parking zones. There are also two paid lots fairly close - One at the corner of Strachan and Fleet St, and another at the southern end of Stadium Rd. Any questions, please email me at [email protected] Also, please feel free to leave a memory of dad here on the Tribute Wall tab, or post something on the Photos + Videos tab. Looking very much forward to sharing a drink, and some fond memories of a beautiful man with you. Donations: While this site gracefully suggests sending flowers, and while we are quite grateful if you are considering this, we feel that dad would have..*ahem*.."not cared for"..the idea. Instead, since dad was such a passionate music educator, we feel that he would love, and be honored by, the idea of donating to a cause that furthers the development and education of young classical musicians. To that end, we have selected the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and humbly request that you "donate in memory" of David Samuel Miller. Learn more about the NYO here: http://nyoc.org/overview2013, and please see this page for how to "Donate In Memory" of dad: http://nyoc.org/donate (and scroll down to "Donate In Memory").