Hundreds of people, including first responders from around the state, gathered at Pearce Memorial Church in North Chili Tuesday, September 29 for funeral services for Bergen EMT Barry Miller, killed in the line of duty September 23 while responding to a call in Riga.
Pastor Matthew French of the Bergen United Methodist Church, where Miller was a member, noted during his sermon that Miller could have been a success anywhere, “The world could have been his, but he stayed rooted where he had grown and gave so much back to the community that formed him,” French said.
Members of the Bergen Fire Department escort the casket of Barry Miller into the Pearce Memorial Church for funeral services September 29. K. Gabalski photo
Miller, 50, was Chief of Emergency Medical Services in Bergen and a 31-year member of the Bergen Fire Department. He started the Explorers program at the Bergen Fire Department and was serving as a Genesee County Coroner at the time of his death. Miller served on the Bergen Town Board for eight years and was owner of Miller’s Millworks in Bergen and the Beaver River Lodge in the Adirondacks. He was a 1983 graduate of Byron-Bergen Central School and president of his senior class.
“Good will come from Barry’s loss,” French continued, “the impact goes far beyond this day because of the life Barry lived and how you are touched by it.”
Bergen Town Supervisor Don Cunningham was among four people who spoke during the service about their memories of Miller. Cunningham said he and Miller struck up a great friendship during Miller’s time on the Bergen Town Board.
“He went above and beyond the typical duty of a public official,” Cunningham said. “I don’t think he filed for a patent, but I think Barry invented multi-tasking.”
Cunningham called Miller’s Millworks one of the most thriving businesses in Bergen and remembered how the community rallied around Miller to rebuild the mill when it burned in 2007. “He came back better than before and had plans for another expansion,” Cunningham said.
He noted the purple and black ribbons tied on all utility poles in the Town of Bergen in honor of Miller. “It’s a testimony to the love for the man we honor today,” Cunningham said, and explained that Miller would likely have turned the day’s focus away from himself. “It could have been any one of the first responders here,” Cunningham said, “Barry would not want us to forget that.”
“He had a penchant for helping others and left us doing what he loved,” Cunningham said, noting the huge void left in the Bergen community once filled by Miller. “Bergen will miss Barry Miller and I will miss my friend,” he said.
Chief Orleans County Coroner Scott Schmidt, who currently serves as president of the New York State Association of County Coroners and Medical Examiners, of which Miller was a member, said Miller, “… was always a person who was giving back. He had a zeal for life. Barry loved helping others.”
Bergen Fire Department Chief Kevin Finucane spoke of the camaraderie formed within fire departments through the sharing of both agony and laughter.
“It will be a long and tough road ahead,” he noted of the loss, but, “We will be stronger and more unified in the end. Rest my brother, we will take it from here.”
Two long-time Bergen residents, Kathleen and Gary Fink, knew Miller well. Kathleen worked with him on the Rescue Squad and Gary on woodworking projects and the rebuilding of Miller’s Millworks.
“Everybody loved Barry,” Kathleen told the Suburban News/The Herald, and Gary explained that Barry answered his phone when Gary called him to offer help while the original millworks was burning. Gary helped Miller close up a hole in the roof above the CNC machine after the fire so production could be back up as soon as possible.
“It was a testament to his optimism and drive,” Gary said. “I always believed Barry was blessed with the ability to proceed in all endeavors as though success was inevitable.”
He remembered Miller’s love of adventure and excitement, including an incident last year when Miller used twenty pounds of Tannerite – a mix of a dry inert powder and aluminum dust used to make exploding targets – to blow up a dead tree at the back of his property.
“He said it was awesome,” Gary recalled, “until several seconds later, debris began to rain down on him for ten or fifteen seconds. Shortly thereafter, a friend called from the Lowes parking lot in Brockport to inquire if Barry just blew up the Tannerite, because he heard it in Brockport.
“Barry lived life at ninety miles an hour,” Gary continued, “always moving, always producing, always getting the best out of himself and those around him.”
Gary recalled a quote from Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech about the man actually in the arena, with a face marred with dust and sweat and blood, and reiterated what Supervisor Cunningham and others said during Miller’s funeral:
“Barry was always in the arena (and) finished, as he wanted, sliding into home at 100 miles an hour with his hair on fire.”
