The Purdue Veterinary Medicine community is saddened by the passing of Dr. Ronald P. Miller, of Indianapolis, a member of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s first graduating class, the Class of 1963. Dr. Miller died February 17, 2026, at the age of 89.
Born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, he enrolled in the Purdue University College of Pharmacy, and earned his BS degree in Pharmacy in 1957. He later was admitted as a member of the first class of Purdue veterinary students in 1959. After graduation, Dr. Miller went into private practice in Ladoga, Indiana, where he worked for two years before opening a small animal practice in 1965 in Brownsburg, Indiana. Five years later, he and his wife built a new clinic east of Brownsburg where he practiced until 2009, after which he sold the clinic and continued his work as a relief veterinarian until 2020.
Dr. Miller’s professional work was not limited to veterinary medicine. He formed Miller Enterprises in 1981 to manufacture hard cast bullets until 1996. He also had his pilot’s license with an instrument rating and loved flying as a hobby. Some of the patients he treated during his career included a leopard that, unknown to him, belonged to bank robbers, a fact which he discovered when confronted by an FBI agent after a medicine packet was found in their belongings.
A lifetime member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Dr. Miller also was a member of the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association and the Central Indiana Veterinary Medical Association.
A funeral service was held February 24, 2026, at Matthews Mortuary in Brownsburg. The family asks that memorial donations in Dr. Miller’s name be made to: K9s for Warriors; Indiana Canine Assistant Network; Outrun the Sun(focused on Melanoma); or the American Heart Association.
View the complete obituary here.
