Qualifications important for coroner

Diagnosed with polio when an infant, he outgrew it. As a teenager he worked, played football and basketball for Lehighton, graduating second in his class. He graduated from Drexel University and was on the dean's list each semester.

Working at Palmerton's New Jersey Zinc Co. he was a chemist, then safety supervisor. Years later, Bureau Veritas hired him as an industrial hygienist, spending most of 2010 at the Gulf of Mexico's severe oil spill, ensuring workers' safety.

He coached basketball for Palmerton's Sacred Heart CYO and later for Lehighton's Booster teams "Lakers" basketball, "Oklahoma" and "Army" football. An EMT for 43 years, he was one of Carbon's original EMT instructors. A member of the six-county "Critical Incident Stress Management" team, he helps firefighters, EMTs, paramedics and police cope with their emotions after experiencing an abnormal event. When Carbon's "Local Emergency Planning Committee" was formed, he was and remains the chairman.

He has conducted over 800 death investigations, ranging from infants to elderly, natural deaths to murders. Many families of deceased keep in touch after their loss.

He is certified by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office in Death Investigation. He has testified for DA Gary Dobias for an accidental death, with Lehigh County's DA office for a murder, and is working with Northampton County's DA office for an infant homicide. He works along with forensic pathologists of HNL, local doctors, nurses, local and state police.

He is the father of a son and stepfather of three, all who are college graduates.

Deputy Coroner Bob Miller has had extensive experience. He is kind, helpful, understanding and extremely intelligent. A chief deputy and deputy coroner for 27 years, he now truly deserves to be Carbon County's coroner.

Diana Miller

Lehighton