Fr. Joseph Miller C.PP.S

Fr. Joseph Miller, C.PP.S. of the Kansas City Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood died on March 16, 2021 at St. Francis Xavier parish in St. Joseph, Missouri. He was 70 years old. 

Fr. Joe was born in Bellevue, Ohio on August 13, 1950 to Alfred and Agnes (Hay) Miller. He entered formation with the Society of the Precious Blood at Brunnerdale Seminary in Canton, Ohio in September 1964, graduated from St. Joseph’s College, Rennselaer, Indiana in 1973, and became a pledged candidate on May 23, 1973. Fr. Joe was definitively incorporated as a Missionary of the Precious Blood on April 15, 1976. He received his M.Div. in Theology from St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota in 1977, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 18, 1977 at Immaculate Conception Church, Bellevue, Ohio. 

Fr. Joe’s first assignment was associate pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Sedalia, Missouri for a month. He was then appointed vocation director for the Kansas City Province, where he served for five years. In 1982, he spent a year teaching math at Precious Blood Seminary in Liberty, Missouri. In 1983, Fr. Joe moved to St. Francis Xavier Parish in St. Joseph, Missouri as associate pastor, where he served for seven years. He then became associate pastor of St. James Church in Liberty for half a year and spent the other half of the year in a sabbatical program at Notre Dame. In 1991 he began his two years of service as pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Butternut, Wisconsin. From 1993 to 2004 Fr. Joe was pastor at St. Mary’s Parish in Centerville, Iowa. His next assignment was as pastor at St. James Parish, Liberty for three years. Then he served as vocation director for four years (2007-2011), the last year of which he also served as associate pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Sedalia, Missouri. For the next five years he served as pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Warrensburg, Missouri.  In 2016, Fr. Joe began his second term of service at St. Francis Xavier Church in St. Joseph, in which role he served as pastor until his death. 

Fr. Joe was known for his dedication and hard work wherever he served. He was always willing to go where needed, and many were familiar with his boundless energy and ever-present smile. He was a person of principle, empathetic but clear when speaking of the values by which he lived. 

Fr. Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Alfred and Agnes Miller, and his brother Eugene. He is survived by three brothers and their wives, Paul and Debbie, Clayton and Marilyn, and Charles. He is also survived by eight sisters, Bertha (Terry) Eisenhauer, Rose (Leroy) Nelson, Ann (Jim) Mellein, Helen (Dale) Gasteier, Martha Turner, Bernie Stockmaster, Rita (Frank) Smith, and Catherine (Gus) McConnell. 

A visitation will be held on Thursday, March 25, 2021 from 4-8 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, 231 E. Center Street, Bellevue where a prayer service will begin at 7:30 p.m.  Additional visitation will begin on Friday at 10:30 a.m. until a funeral Mass will begin at 11 a.m.  Burial will be at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio.  In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Society of the Precious Blood, Immaculate Conception School, 231 E. Center Street, Bellevue, Ohio 44811, or St. Francis Xavier School,  2614 Seneca St, St Joseph, MO 64507.

Memories may be shared at www.foosfuneral.com

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