Thread: Neil Miller RIP

Very sad news for his family, my he rest in peace
His generosity with his knowledge was truly outstanding.
He will be missed by many in the shaving community.
One of the good guys has passed on, but left a legacy that will last many years.


RIP Neil Miler

Very sad to hear this!! You'll be sorely missed here on SRP!

Heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the many friends and the family of Neil!!

Neil....Well Done!!

Rest in Peace!

It is with much sadness, I read this morning about Neal’s passing. I was always amazed at the breath of his knowledge, in awe of his talent and his willingness to share. I will miss his razor wit, pun intended, his interesting and well written words and his sly humor.

Though, I never had the opportunity to meet Neal, in person, I feel privileged to at least know a little of him. It was truly my pleasure and I will miss him.

This forum will be a little less bright, without Neal.

God Bless. His family is in my prayers….

Very sad to hear that news,

Condolences to his family.

A great contributer to the forum, with very informative and well wrote threads, as many have said a great loss indeed.

Just saw this today. How old was he?

Unfortunately I didn't know him, but I know he contributed a lot to the forum and helped answer some questions I had. He was certainly a wealth of information and a mentor to many. Hopefully his family is doing okay during this difficult time. Will pray for them.

Please find the below message from Neil's wife - Kim. She is very grateful for your support to Neil over the last few months which makes very interesting reading! Kim is slowly picking up Neil's emails for those who have sent message directly to Neil's email address - I'm sure she'll reply to these in due course but I'm sure you can imagine there's a lot to sort out at the moment!

Thank you for all your kind words. Neil passed away on 08 July 2015 in Southend University Hospital despite valiant efforts of the nursing staff. Much of his work has been left unfinished and everywhere I go I seem to be presented with reminders of Neil as his work is lying in every room just as he left it.

Neil would no doubt have been surprised and delighted at the attention his death has caused. Myself, I am not surprised at the response to Dave’s original post. Neil was all of the things that people have said and more. I am apt to write long-winded essays on most subjects (rather than ‘get to the point’ as Neil would say) and my only regret is that Neil is gone and cannot respond to you all personally, which I have no doubt he would have given the chance. Your words have bought much solace to his family who are immensely proud of him (not that he would believe it, being his own worst critic).

Neil was, as may will know, a plain talker & no doubt his sharp wit (or tongue at times) will have ruffled a few feathers, but he genuinely believed that if someone was wrong he had a duty to the past craftsman to ensure the correct information was out there and he made no apology for that (or anything else now I come to think of it).

Our house is as Neil left it- an Aladdin’s cave of ‘stuff’, in little order and with no direction. He knew he was ill but preferred to work rather than face the end with any order. He was a perfectionist and an artist first, which left little time for mundane things like filing or writing a will. Instead, he finished off some orders that had been lying around for months and put someone straight on a few points!!

I can honestly say that life will never be the same again and despite my sadness and the very difficult end I know that Neil is now at peace and is pain free. He was given an extra 18 months since his initial shave with death (no pun intended) but has spent much of this time in bed and in considerable pain; for which he refused to take painkillers for fear this would worsen his condition.

Neil was nothing if not frank and we had many conversations during this time but none involved what would happen should he die and I now face many challenges I too refused to accept should this sad day come.
Whilst I can deal with the most practical things I am not technical and despite Neil’s efforts to force me into the 21st century in regard to PC’s, tablets (in fact anything technical); I am now forced to face the possibility that I was completely reliant on Neil in this regard (and many others) and when things start going wrong I will now have to either learn or live in a tent!! His shop and website will remain as is until such time as I can find someone to finally close up. I expect I will have to learn how to apologise graciously (something Neil was not good at) when I learn how to refund duplicate orders or because I can’t find the items he has listed!
Neil always threw himself into anything he was interested in almost to the point of obsession, craving knowledge which he was able to transfer to real life projects. He was a perfectionist and never satisfied with own output (which was bloody annoying from my perspective as it was better than anyone else could do even with years of practice).

I have been asked which charities Neil supported in order that his friends could make donation in his memory. Neil was a donor to Essex Air Ambulance and supported the work they do, especially in responding to road traffic accidents involving motorcyclists. Donations can be made to Essex Air Ambulance via https://www.justgiving.com/Kim-Miller69

Anyway, I am sure he is looking down on you all (or up probably) happy that he made an impression and his work is so much appreciated, with a pie a pint and bloody huge cigar (just 3 of the many things he has been robbed of for the last 18 months).

Neil’s funeral will be held in Colchester, Essex next Friday (17 July 2015). If anyone would like to attend or would like more information please do not hesitate to contact me by private message (via Jade).

Kind regards to you all,
Kim x

Originally Posted by sharptonn

A truly sad day. Neil was a great guy, no one quite like him. In correspondence with him, I got to know him quite well.
He had a wealth of practical knowledge and so many crazy stories to relate. He had a way of putting you in his shoes as he told of his escapades and adventures.

His mind was amazing as was his wealth of historical and scientific smarts. He will be sorely missed by all who loved him and even by those who did not.
His health was bad for a very long time, filled with pain and frustration. I am grateful that his suffering has ceased.

The mold was broken as God made Neil. Rest Easy, My Friend.
Final Regards,
Tom

Tom, it was very clear that he felt a strong connection with you too through the posts and banter you both enjoyed. You could tell you were both good friends.

Although I only knew Neil here and not well I had a lot of respect for his honesty and ability to "keep it real". You could also tell that on the other side of it all he cared deeply for people and had a big heart. What a loss for SRP as he had information from the "other side of the pond" that very few others ", if any, seemed to know.

"It's an honor to feel pain in grief, for where there is pain there is also deep love"

Adios old friend.

Like Tom so wonderfully stated, Neil was a treasure. I enjoyed many visits with him via e-mails and we recounted many similar adventures we'd had in life.

He will be sorely missed.

His pain and suffering is over. I pray for his family and wife.

Requiescat In Pace.

Thanks, Tom.

RIP Neil.
We remember you.