In a day and age where the chief executive officers of most large companies come with a better knowledge of navigating the business world than the actual product they are serving, Dane Miller was truly one of a kind.

The co-founder and former CEO of the Warsaw-based orthopedic company did not hold a Masters in Business Administration, but rather a PhD in Biometrics Engineering. Many that knew Miller felt he was an ‘old school’ executive, exemplifying common sense, trust and loyalty. He was widely regarded as a man of character that never wavered in the face of adversity.

Miller was born the second of four children on Feb. 7, 1946, in the small town of Springfield, Ohio, to Ersie Emery and Ruth Shumaker Miller. His mother was an English teacher and his father was an elementary school principal. His parents always thought he would end up in education as he often accompanied his father to work, watching on as he creatively solved problems. This idea was put to rest when Miller decided he did not want a job where he would be sitting down all day long.

In the Miller family work and family life were balanced. The Millers congregated over supper together every night. Miller was an exceptionally bright student, developing a love of science and math. It was recommended he skip the second grade, but the idea was eventually vetoed. This is credited as being the first in a long line of struggles he faced against rules that blocked him and his ideas from proceeding at the torrid pace at which they developed.

Miller was documented as having loved to hunt. People close to him will tell you that perhaps the thing of which he was most proud was his cooking, a skill which his aunts taught him. His community involvement can be traced back to when he was a child, when he would sit as the President of as many clubs as he could, and always with his sister as the secretary. Miller’s legacy permeates through so many areas of the Kosciusko County way of life. He will be missed by many, but his legacy will live on through the positive impact he had on the lives of so many.

“I remember the day I met him, when I decided to run, and going to lunch with him. What an amazing man. It’s really a sad day in Warsaw and Winona Lake. I’m going to miss him,” recalled Indiana State Senator Ryan Mishler at a recent Third House Session in Warsaw.