Update: TACAMO Fallen Veteran - Phil Miller, 2018 TACAMO Hall of Fame Inductee

February 5, 1949 - May 4, 2020

Phil Miller passed away on May 4, 2020 at the age of 71 in Edmond, Oklahoma. Phil was born on February 5, 1949 in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bob and Norma Miller who preceded him in death. Phil was baptized in May 1949 at Ruskin Heights Lutheran Church, and confirmed on June 2, 1963 at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Phil married Billie Marie Almes on August 21, 1971 and together they enjoyed 48 years of marriage. Phil is survived by his wife, Billie, son Jeff (and wife Erin), son John, and three grandchildren (Andy, Stephen, and Robin). He is also survived by his mother-in-law, Helen Almes, sister Vicki McGraw (and husband Bob), brother Dave Miller (and wife Janet), brother-in-law Robert Almes (and wife Linda), uncle Don Meints, aunt Lydia Miller, and numerous nephews and cousins. Phil grew up in Grandview, Missouri and graduated from Grandview High School in 1967. Phil was a very well-rounded individual and student. He was a perennial all-star first baseman in baseball, an all-conference center in basketball, played the trombone in the school band, and sang bass in the select choir, The Grace Notes. Academically, Phil was an extremely high achiever. He was awarded the Outstanding Advanced Math Student and Outstanding Physics Student at Grandview High School his senior year. After high school, Phil enrolled at the University of Missouri at Rolla, earning a Mechanical Engineering degree in 1971. Phil’s college career was interrupted by his service as a medic in the United States Air Force Reserves. While at Rolla, Phil was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Upon graduation, Phil accepted a position at Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas. After a short stint at Texas Instruments, Phil accepted an engineering position at Rockwell Collins in Richardson, Texas. As a result of Phil’s hard work, his extreme intelligence, and his people-friendly personality, Phil quickly moved into a role of Program Manager, one of the youngest ever at Rockwell Collins, working on the TACAMO program for the United States Navy. He eventually worked as a Program Manager for the ASTARTE program, which was the French-equivalent of TACAMO, and travelled to France frequently. Phil always had a risk-taking entrepreneurial spirit, and in 1995 Phil started Long Wave Incorporated. Long Wave was named based on the technology used by the TACAMO program (Very Low Frequency-VLF), which is a “long wave”. Phil’s business acumen and leadership skills helped Long Wave to achieve numerous awards during his tenure as the CEO. These awards include winning the INC500/INC5000 ten times (representing the fastest growing businesses in America). Long Wave was also an eight-time winner of the Inner City 100 for Oklahoma City. Phil was recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Governor of Oklahoma as Oklahoma’s Small Businessperson of The Year in 2006. In 2016, Phil was enshrined into the TACAMO Hall of Fame by the US Navy, as a result of his contributions to the Navy and the TACAMO community. Phil was a member of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. Phil also sat on several local committees including the Bricktown Urban Design Committee and the Governor’s Business Roundtable for the State of Oklahoma. Phil owned the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz Arena Football team for three years. Phil was obviously a successful and respected businessman, but more importantly, Phil was a wonderful person. Phil was famous for treating his Long Wave employees as “family.” Phil also loved his 3M family (Millers/Meints/McGraws) family reunions; singing, laughing, and playing cards (he probably won the most pitch card tournaments based on his crazy bidding)! He was kind, loving, and generous. He will be greatly missed by family and friends here on Earth but will be welcomed warmly into the arms of the Lord and by his family and friends who preceded him. A private family service will be held to remember and celebrate Phil's life on Friday, May 8, 2020 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Edmond, OK. Burial will take place following services Friday at Rose Hill Burial Park in Oklahoma City, OK. Rev. Johnathan Meyer will be presiding.