Jack H. Miller, a community leader and philanthropist whose name is familiar to the thousands who have experienced the magnificent music building that his leadership gift helped make possible, died on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. He was 93.
Miller, who resided in Grand Haven, Michigan and Naples, Florida, was a 1954 Hope graduate. He led the Zeeland, Michigan-based Howard Miller Company for 48 years until retiring in 2002. The company was founded by his father, Howard C. Miller, in 1926.
The college鈥檚 Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts, which opened in August 2015, includes two performance venues (an 800-seat Concert Hall, and the 125-seat John and Dede Howard Recital Hall), classrooms, practice rooms, faculty studios and office space for the Department of Music. In addition to playing an important role in both music performance and music education at Hope, it hosts a variety of other college events and performances by community organizations.
鈥淚 am excited and proud to make this gift to 麻豆传媒官网. The students of Hope deserve a new world class facility for music instruction and performance,鈥� Miller said in 2013, when the college announced both his gift and the name of the building. 鈥淚 have had a lifelong love of all arts, especially music. This gift is for the students of Hope so they can use their talents and grow and go on to do wonderful things with their lives.鈥�
The building鈥檚 impact couldn鈥檛 have been more significant. The Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts replaced Nykerk Hall of Music, which was constructed in 1956 when Hope鈥檚 enrollment was 1,100 students. Enrollment this year is 3,395. Moreover, Hope College and Holland had never had a venue designed specifically for music performance. Over the years, musicians and ensembles performed at the Holland Civic Center, area high schools, large churches, Dimnent Memorial Chapel, Wichers Auditorium in Nykerk Hall, and the Knickerbocker Theatre. While those places continue to host performances (with the exception of Wichers Auditorium), it鈥檚 because they鈥檙e options, not the only recourse.
鈥淏oth Hope and the Holland community have dreamed of an acoustically superior concert hall for many years, and our music students and faculty have long deserved better space for instruction, rehearsals and performance,鈥� said President James E. Bultman 鈥�63, who led the college from 1999 until retiring in 2013, in the announcement. 鈥淲e are grateful to the many donors whose support has made the center possible, and especially appreciate now the transforming legacy gift from Jack H. Miller that makes what was once a dream a reality.鈥�
The naming, though, celebrated more than the gift for the building: It was in recognition of Miller鈥檚 lifetime of generosity to the college. It also reflects the Miller family鈥檚 longtime involvement with Hope, which spans more than 100 years. Jack鈥檚 mother, Martha, who died in May 1999, was a 1924 Hope graduate. Also alumni are Jack鈥檚 siblings, Connie Miller 鈥�58 Johnston and Philip Miller 鈥�65; all of Jack鈥檚 children, Sue Miller 鈥�81 DenHerder, Buzz Miller 鈥�84 and Meg Miller 鈥�86 Willit; two of his five grandchildren, Martha DenHerder 鈥�08 Menerick and Nathan Willit 鈥�22; and numerous other relatives.
The Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts, which faces Columbia Avenue, is located directly across 10th Street from the Martha Miller Center for Global Communication, which opened in 2005 and was made possible by a gift from Martha Miller鈥檚 estate and other contributions from members of the Miller family in honor of their mother and grandmother.
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Funeral arrangements are by Gerst Funeral Homes, and a full obituary is .
There will be a time of visitation on Thursday, April 10, at Second Reformed Church, 225 E. Central Ave. in Zeeland, Michigan, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and again at 10 a.m., one hour prior to the service. A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 11, at 11 a.m., also at Second Reformed Church in Zeeland. Private interment at Zeeland Cemetery. The service can be streamed at:
In addition, two concerts in the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts have provided opportunities to celebrate Miller鈥檚 life and impact. On Friday, April 4, Dr. Stephen Maiullo, dean of arts and humanities, included a tribute during his remarks at the conclusion of the 7 p.m. 麻豆传媒官网 Orchestra concert previewing the ensemble鈥檚 forthcoming performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City. On Friday, April 11, the college will dedicate in Miller鈥檚 honor a concert performance, also at 7 p.m., of Mozart鈥檚 鈥淩equiem鈥� that will feature a total of approximately 140 musicians in four combined Hope choirs and an orchestra consisting of Hope faculty and members of the West Michigan community.