A champion for kids and youth sports

Around the baseball diamonds and football fields in Elk Grove Village, Fred Miller was something of an institution.

He coached his own seven children - five daughters and two sons - on youth teams in the village for 29 years, but he touched the lives of hundreds of youngsters over the years, family members say.

Mr. Miller passed away on Sunday, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. The 29-year resident of Elk Grove Village was 57.

In a typical summer, Mr. Miller managed a baseball and softball team at the same time, before taking a squad to postseason tournament play, and all before heading into prep football in the fall.

Family members say Mr. Miller loved it, often spending the off season designing new plays, working on the mechanics of hitting at the batting cages, and preparing for the next season.

"He was passionate about both baseball and football," says his oldest son, Tim, who now coaches sophomore baseball and football at Prospect High School. "He had this great rapport with kids, and always had successful teams."

As recently as last May, Mr. Miller worked with a 12-year-old whose mother had passed away and was struggling at the plate and getting discouraged.

"My dad took him aside and worked with him, so much that in the championship game he went four for four," says Maureen Miller Greenberg of Schaumburg. "My dad was so proud of that."

Mr. Miller grew up in Chicago, and was a batboy for the Cubs in his youth. But one of his favorite memories was watching his favorite player, Nellie Fox, help the White Sox win the pennant in 1959, before being named MVP of the American League that year.

Mr. Miller played baseball and football in high school and in college, first at Wright Junior College in Chicago, and baseball at Northern Illinois University, before earning a degree in physical education and history. In 1973, he married Judi Shanks, and the couple moved to Elk Grove Village in 1979 to raise their growing family.

Mr. Miller worked the early shift as a bus driver for the Chicago Transit Authority for 25 years, so he would have time to devote to coaching. Later, he served as warehouse manager and driver for Shamrock Electric Co, based in Elk Grove.

Beyond coaching, Mr. Miller also served as vice president of Elk Grove Youth Football, before becoming commissioner of the Mid-Suburban Baseball League's full time travel program for 12-year-olds.

Besides his son and daughter, Mr. Miller is survived by his wife Judi, and children Erin (Mike) Young of Gilberts, Katie of Cary, and Colleen, Kevin and Kelly, all of Elk Grove, as well as six grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a 3-year old son, Danny.

Visitation will be held from 3-9 p.m. today at Grove Memorial Chapel, 1199 S. Arlington Heights Road, before a 10 a.m. funeral Mass on Thursday at St. Julian Eymard Church, 601 Biesterfield Road, both in Elk Grove.