Miller, Juanita, 1912-2005

Henry S. Miller Jr. has a prominent place among business and community leaders in Dallas, helping carry on the real estate company of his father, Henry S. Miller Sr., a company that is nearly a century old. The Henry S. Miller Company was founded in 1914, and has grown since that time from a small, local real estate firm into the largest establishment in the state of Texas specializing in real estate brokerage services.

Henry S. Miller Jr. attended Southern Methodist University, a 1934 business graduate with a B.S. degree. He joined his father’s company in 1938 after working in the insurance business; he later became owner of an insurance firm and brought it into the Miller real estate company. Miller served in the U.S. Army during World War II from 1942 until 1945, seeing action in both North Africa and Italy, and rising to the rank of Major by the time his service was finished.

His wife, Helen Juanita Lewis, was born in 1912 in Kiowa, Oklahoma. She attended the University of Oklahoma, and taught at both the high school and junior college level. She first met Miller while working at a center in Arkansas for returning World War II servicemen. Lewis and Miller were married in 1945 until her death in November 2005. The Millers had four children: Vance, Patsy, Henry III, and Jacqueline.

Henry and Juanita Miller were patrons of the arts in Dallas. Juanita Miller helped found the Dallas opera; she and her husband also provided the new organization with a $200,000 loan to ensure financial support during its early years. In addition, she founded the Texas Women’s Association for Symphony Orchestras, currently the Texas Association for Symphony Orchestras. She was also involved in the Dallas Ballet, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League, the Dallas Theatre Center, and the Dallas Museum of Art. Mrs. Miller’s arts activities were not limited to Dallas; she also supported cultural and artistic endeavors in Fort Worth and Richardson.

The original partnership between Henry Miller, Jr. and his father was incorporated in 1960, whereupon Miller Jr. became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. As such, he built upon the work his father started by expanding company operations into the areas of property management, office and retail properties, and specialized real estate services. He also expanded the corporation’s insurance business in 1968 by establishing a partnership with insurance businessman James B. Strange. By this period, the Miller family oversaw several firms under the purview of the Henry S. Miller Company: Henry S. Miller Co., Insurance; Henry S. Miller Co., Realtors; and Henry S. Miller Management Corp.

Vance C. Miller became President in 1970, and the company’s holdings continued to expand through the next two decades. The company merged in 1984 with another firm, thus forming the third largest real estate corporation in the United States; this lasted until 1991, when the Miller family reacquired Henry S. Miller Co., Realtors with offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin. Today, Miller Jr. serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Henry S. Miller Companies, and Henry S. Miller Interests, Inc. He is also Managing Partner of Highland Park Village and Preston Royal Shopping Center, both in Dallas.

As these papers attest, Miller Jr. has been highly involved in civic affairs within the city of Dallas, as well as within the SMU community. He served as president of the National Alumni Association for SMU, having been elected to that position in 1968; prior to that, he worked as the NAA’s vice president for administration and budget. He has also served as the president of both the Dallas Rotary Club and the Southern Methodist University School of Business Alumni Association. In addition, Miller is a member of the board of governors for the American Society of Real Estate Councilors, the Dallas Citizens Council, the Dallas Metropolitan YMCA, the Better Business Bureau, and the SMU Board of Development.

He has also received recognition for his work in furthering the arts in Dallas, especially the Dallas Opera. Honors bestowed upon him include the 1982 Dallas Historical Society Award for Contribution to the Arts, induction into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 1988, a 1978 Distinguished Alumnus Award from SMU, and the Outstanding Business Leader Award from the Northwood Institute in 1982.

Juanita Miller received recognition for her arts-related work, including a 1986 James (Jas.) K. Wilson Award (see Box 4, Folder 19), a Woman of the Year Award from Les Femmes du Monde in 1999, and the Dallas Historical Society Award for Excellence in the Arts. Both Mrs. Miller and her husband were also awarded honorary doctorates from Northwood University. She also served as president of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League, vice president of the Dallas Ballet, and board member for the Dallas Theater Center and the Dallas Opera.

Sources:

http://www.henrysmiller.com/history/

"Juanita Miller: Championed arts, helped husband build real estate powerhouse." Dallas Morning News. November 22, 2005.

"Miller, Juanita Lewis 93, died November 21, 2005." Dallas Morning News. November 23, 2005.

"Dr. Juanita Miller," Northwood University website.

From the guide to the Juanita and Henry S. Miller Jr. papers. A2001. 2259., 1932-1999, (DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University)