James Miller

James C. Miller, businessman, electrical industry leader, sailor, and family man, passed away July 26, 2015, in Barrington, IL.

Miller was a Naval Aviator in the U.S. Navy and served on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Wasp in the Mediterranean. He and Joan Kennedy married in Chicago in 1952 and they raised five children. While working full time, Miller earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University under the GI Bill and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Executive Program.

In 1957 Miller joined International Register Company (now Intermatic), a manufacturer of industrial and residential timing devices and low-voltage lighting, as marketing manager. Miller had risen to Vice President of Marketing when Litton Industries tapped him to take the helm of its Jefferson Electric division in Bellwood, IL. In 1970 Intermatic urged him to return as its President where he remained until 1994.

Miller received international recognition for the many employee incentive programs he instituted at Intermatic. In 1978 the Illinois Division of the American Cancer Society awarded Miller its Lifesaver Award for adding 477 years (the equivalent of 6.6 lifetimes) to the lives of the successful participants in his stop-smoking programs.

Miller’s management initiatives during his tenure at Intermatic were featured in a cover story in Inc. Magazine (May 1986) and in Donald Bibeault’s 1998 book, Corporate Turnaround: How Managers Turn Losers into Winners! The National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA) named Miller and Intermatic Manufacturer of the Year in 1984. In 1986 he was given the Gold Medal Achievement Award by the Electrical Association of Chicagoland and was inducted into the Electrical Association Hall of Fame.

Miller established a family business, Qualitas Manufacturing Incorporated, with his sons Jim, Chris, and Steve. QMI is the largest manufacturer of rolling shutters in the U.S. Miller was Chairman of the company until his death.

St. Rita of Cascia High School, his alma mater, benefitted from his time and talent. The school and the Augustinian Order that operates it bestowed many awards on him over the years in recognition of his service as Chairman of its Board of Advisors. In 2000 he was affiliated as a member of the Augustinian Order, the highest designation bestowed on a lay person. He was also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Allendale Association, an organization dedicated to the care, education, and advocacy on behalf of troubled children and their families.

Miller was an enthusiastic sailor, sailing his catamarans on lakes in the Midwest, on the Atlantic, in the Caribbean, and over the waterways of Europe. He captained his 39-foot catamarans on two transatlantic crossings. He was a licensed U.S. Merchant Marine Officer, and at the age of 77, he received an award for 10 years of valued service to the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Miller enjoyed many winters sailing and golfing at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida.

He leaves behind his loving wife of 62 years, Joan; children, Joanell (James) McKenna, James (Mary), Nancy (James) Daluga, Christopher (Kathleen), and Stephen (Kerry); eleven grandchildren, James Edward (Dana) Daluga, Molly Rose Daluga, Matthew James McKenna, Mary Kate Miller, Jacqueline Joan (Will) Horton, Thomas James Miller, Marielle Joan McKenna, Kelly Joan Miller, Marion Marie Daluga, Brian William Miller, and Edward James Miller; and three great grandchildren, Charles William Horton, Annabelle Ellen Horton, and Cecelia Ann Daluga.

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