About Us
About Us
The History of Miller Funeral Home:
W.R. "Bill" Miller came to East Tennessee in 1928 during the Great Depression after having served with the US Army during World War I. In France, he worked on an ammunition train - a wagon pulled by mules. Mr. Miller became affiliated with Rawlings Funeral Home in Sevierville. He was later added as a partner, and the name changed to Rawlings-Miller Funeral Home.
The firm served a large portion of Blount County from its Sevierville location. Mr. Miller traveled to Maryville on business often and liked it so much he decided to make Maryville his permanent home. In 1941, Mr. Miller and his family established Rawlings-Miller Funeral Home of Maryville in a house formerly owned by Maryville College.
The Millers had one daughter, Vivian, who married T.J. Stafford, Jr. T.J. also had a military background as a line officer for the Navy in the Pacific during World War II. Vivian Miller used to drive the ambulance and hearse for the funeral home during the war because so many of our men were overseas. In 1955, the old funeral home was torn down to make way for our current facility, and the name was changed to Miller Funeral Home.
The Staffords had four children, T.J. III, Jan, Rebecca, and Kent. After Mr. Miller died in 1963, his wife, Veva B. Miller, continued to operate the funeral home with the assistance of her son-in-law, T.J. Stafford.
T.J. Stafford, III followed a family tradition by serving his country during the Vietnam War with the Marine Corps. Since the death of Mrs. Miller and Mr. Stafford, the Millers' daughter, Vivian M. Stafford, and grandson, Kent Stafford, carried on the family business as co-owners and operators of the funeral home until Vivian passed away in March 2015. Kent Stafford is now the third generation and sole owner of Miller Funeral Home. They have recruited a team of highly efficient professionals whose core values are set in integrity.
In addition to Vivian and Kent, Rebecca Stafford is involved in the family business by managing the landscaping.
