Dennis Howell (Hal) Miller | Eastern NC Now

    Dennis Howell (Hal) Miller, age 78, a resident of Washington, NC, went home to heaven on April 29, 2026, to be with his parents and brothers. A visitation will be held May 11 from 6:00-8:00 pm at Paul Funeral Home in Washington, NC. Funeral services will be held May 12 at 11:00 am at Paul Funeral Home with a graveside ceremony with full military honors to follow at Oakdale Cemetery.

    Howell wrote this obituary in advance, reflecting on a life well lived.

    He was born in Lake Charles, LA on May 29, 1947. He is the son of the late Dillard Louis (Frenchy) Miller and the late Hilda Agnes Fontenot Miller. He attended several parochial and public elementary and junior high schools in Lake Charles. He is a graduate of Lake Charles High School, Class of 1965. He graduated from McNeese State University in Lake Charles in August 1969 with a degree in French. He was very active in the Reserve Officers' Training Program (ROTC) at McNeese, serving as the Commanding Officer of the McNeese Ware Rifles Fancy Drill Team in his junior year. During his senior year, he served as one of three battalion commanders of the ROTC Corps Brigade and was named a Distinguished Military Student. Upon graduation, he was named a Distinguished Military Graduate of the McNeese ROTC Program.

    He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Regular Army of the United States in August 1969. He attended the Armor Officers' Basic Course at Fort Knox, KY in the fall of 1969. He then attended the Defense Language Institute in Washington, DC in early 1970 learning the additional language of German. In June 1970, he reported to the Second Squadron, Second Armored Cavalry Regiment (2/2 ACR) in Bamberg, Germany, where he served as second Platoon Leader, Troop Maintenance Officer, and as the Executive Officer of G Troop, 2/2 ACR. After his promotion to First Lieutenant, he became the Squadron S2-Intelligence Officer. His unit patrolled the borders between West Germany/East Germany and West Germany/Czechoslovakia. In August 1971, after being promoted to Captain, he attended the Counterintelligence Officers' Course at Fort Huachuca, AZ. In January 1972, he reported to Viet Nam, where he served as an advisor in the Phoenix Program to the Province and District Governments of the Province of Long Khanh. He returned to the US in 1972 and was assigned to Fort Polk, LA, where he served as a company commander to women in the army (WAC) and as the brigade operations officer-S3. After leaving active duty, he became a US Army Reserve officer in 1973 and served as an Admissions Liaison Officer for the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York for eight years before leaving the Reserves in 1981.

    His military decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the US Viet Nam Service Medal, the US Viet Nam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Bronze Star, the Vietnam Civic Action Honor Medal First Class, US Army Presidential Unit Citation, the US Army Meritorious Unit Citation, the Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation, the Vietnam Civic Action Honor Medal Unit Citation, and the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

    He was very active in the Boy Scouts of America. As a boy, he was a member of Pack and Troop 7 sponsored by the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Lake Charles, LA, where he earned the Life Scout rank. He served on the Camp Edgewood Staff as the physical fitness merit badge counselor for four summers while in high school. He competed in rifle marksmanship in an Explorer Post. As an adult, he was active in Pack 33 and Troops 33 and 35 in Sulphur, LA and with the Kossa Indian Dance Team Explorer Post. He is an Ordeal member of the Quelqueshoe Lodge 166, Order of the Arrow. After relocating to Washington, NC, he served as the Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 99, sponsored by the First United Methodist Church. He assisted several scouts to earn their Eagle Scout rank, including his son, Brian. After his retirement, he again worked as a volunteer in Scouting serving as the Blackbeard District Membership Committee Chairman, East Carolina BSA Council. When his grandson, Louis, entered Cub Scouting, he served as an Assistant Den Leader in Cub Scout Pack 99, also sponsored by the FUMC.

    He was a very active member of the Washington High School Band Boosters while his children were attending high school. He usually drove the equipment truck to band competitions. He was an active member of the Washington High School Renaissance Club that recognized high achieving academic students. He was an active member in the Beaufort County School Business Partnership. He was a member of the Washington-Beaufort Chamber of Commerce as part of his health & safety consulting practice.

    He is a Third Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, a life member of the Viet Nam Veterans of America, the Disabled American Veterans, and a life member of the National Rifle Association. He is a Professional Member of the American Society of Safety Professionals, the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, and the International Society of Mine Safety Professionals.

    His career in the safety profession began in the US Army, as a tank gunnery range safety officer in Germany. He served with a chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) response team in Germany and served as the Executive Officer of the CBR team at Fort Polk, La. After leaving military active duty, he worked in the Safety Department at Cities Service Oil Company, now Citgo Petroleum, in Lake Charles, LA for 16 years. He worked as a shift safety-fire inspector and as the relief safety-fire supervisor for the basic refinery, petrochemical plant, and the lube oil refinery. He became the Safety-Fire Manager of the basic refinery and later served in the same capacity at the Cit-Con Lube Oil Refinery. While at Cit-Con, the 500 employees worked 27 months without an OSHA recordable injury. In 1986, he joined Westlake Polymers as the safety-security supervisor for 18 months. In 1987, he accepted the position of Manager, Health and Safety at Texasgulf Chemicals, then PCS Phosphate, Aurora, NC. He worked there for 18 years before retiring. While at PCS, under his leadership, the facility became a double North Carolina STAR site. The chemical plants became the 19th Carolina STAR site in 1999 and the mine/mill area became the first Mining STAR site. The entire PCS site worked 9.9 million safe employee hours without a lost time injury. This is still a safety record in the fertilizer manufacturing industry.

    After retiring from PCS Phosphate in 2004, he accepted the position of Environmental, Health, and Safety Manager at Weyerhaeuser's Wood Products operation at Plymouth, NC. In December 2005, he took his health and safety consulting practice full time. He is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) by examination in Management Practices from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, a Certified Mine Safety Professional (CMSP) by comprehensive examination from the International Society of Certified Mine Safety Professionals, and a Certified Environmental Auditor (CPEA) in the environmental, health, and safety areas. He was a North Carolina Emergency Medical Technician-Defibrillation Level for over 20 years, serving with the PCS Emergency Response Team and the City of Washington NC Fire, Rescue, & Emergency Services. While living in Louisiana, he was a Captain in the Carlyss, Louisiana Volunteer Fire Department.

    He married the love of his life, Diana, on May 31, 1969, in Ville Platte, LA. She is surviving. They have three children: Amy Miller and her husband, Adam of Raleigh, NC; Brian Miller and his wife, Rachael, of Washington, NC; and Laura Miller Harris, of Raleigh, NC. He has six grandchildren, Casey Cole Slomiany, Hildy Beth Slomiany, Audrey Marie Miller, Louis Howell Miller, Millie Anne Harris and Lawson Joseph Harris. Howell was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Dillard Larry Miller and Gerard Martin Miller.

    His life loves were loving Diana, watching his children and grandchildren grow into wonderful adults, woodworking, fixing things, camping, grilling, cooking outside, doing health & safety work, volunteer work, and having fun.

    The family extends their heartfelt gratitude to Maureen Clement, Brandee Barnes, and Mary Pittman for their devoted care and compassion throughout his illness.

    In lieu of flowers, it is his wish that donations should be made in his memory to the Washington High School JROTC or the VFW Post 6088 in Washington, NC.

    Paul Funeral Home & Crematory of Washington is honored to serve the Miller family.