James Miller, 31, a lifelong resident of Belding, passed away peacefully on April 3, 2020 at home, under the loving care of his family, after a courageous battle with T-Cell Lymphoma.
From an early age James was a people person, he never met a stranger, made friends wherever he went, and he would always remember your name. Everyone in Belding and beyond knew James. He couldn’t go anywhere, even to Florida, without someone saying, “Hi James!” He loved keeping up with the town happenings, if there was an event in town, James was there. When the weather was good, James would make his rounds around town to friend’s houses and local businesses to say hi, he brought joy wherever he went. James was famous for waving at everyone, when there wasn’t much to do at home, he would stand outside and wave at the cars passing by, and he delighted in seeing everyone.
James was born on December 13, 1988 in Sheridan, attended Freedom Acres in Ionia and went to Independent Living until he was 26; he loved going to school, seeing everyone and learning life skills. He worked at Abbey’s Gab’ N Shack in Belding, and enjoyed every minute of it, everyone always would say, they never knew anyone that was so happy to go to work. James was a talker, if he had your phone number, you could expect a call from James on a regular basis. He wanted to know what everyone was doing and what they had for dinner, once he was done talking to you he would hang up, call another friend, and repeat the process, he loved talking to people. James also loved family, especially being an uncle! His favorite thing to do was spend time with his nieces and nephews and was always helping keep all of them in line! In life, James faced many adversities, he had health problems most of his life, has had two kidney transplants and battled cancer. Throughout it all he never complained and was always upbeat. He had a heart full of love and we should all, Love Like James! James was a pillar in the Belding community, and will be greatly missed by everyone.
Surviving James are his mom and step-dad; Marie (Terry) Curler of Belding, his dad and step-mom; Sam (Kristi) Miller of Alto, his siblings; Tara (Chris) Kraai of Ionia, Samantha (Brad) Tran of Greenville, Lisa Miller (Adam Thompson) of Greenville, his grandparents; Judy Trowbridge of Orleans, Joan (Dan) Moran of Belding, his nieces and nephews; Elena Kraai, Ashton Tran, Brice Kraai, Benjamin Tran, his aunts and uncles; Cindy Miller of Soldotna, AK, Jerry (Tina) Eickenroth of Cedar Springs, Melvin (Deana) Trowbridge of Greenville, Clinton (Shareen) Rich of Orleans, Susan Goodsell of Woodstock, GA, Bobby (Sharon) Curler of Lakeview, Cindy (Dave) Antcliff of Belding, Joey (Cheryl) Curler of Palo, Deb Curler of Belding, along with many cousins, extended family, countless friends and the entire Belding community.
James was preceded in death by his grandparents; Fred Miller, Robert Eickenroth, Jerry Trowbridge, Alice Curler, aunts and uncles; Larry (Linda) Rich, George Rich and Johnny Curler.
Due to the circumstances regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, a celebration of James’s life will be held later this summer. Memorial contributions in memory of James may be given to The B Foundation or the Alvah N. Belding Library; envelopes are available at the funeral home.
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