Don Miller was born in Sassafras, Kentucky, on December 10, 1929, to Luther and Ella Hale Miller. When Don was three, his family moved to Red Fox, Kentucky (Hale’s Branch). Don attended school at Breeding’s Creek Elementary through the fifth grade and Carr Creek Elementary for the sixth grade. For seventh grade through graduation, he attended Carr Creek High School.

          Don started playing basketball in the sixth grade and played two years on Carr Creek’s Junior Varsity team. He started for the Varsity team when he reached high school and played all four years. He made the all-district and all-regional teams as a freshman. Don also really enjoyed academics. He was the senior class valedictorian in 1948. He had a wonderful, memorable senior year: the new gym was completed and Carr Creek went to the State Tournament in Louisville, Ky.

          Carr Creek won three games, and Don, along with cousin Bill Morton, made all-state. He also played in the annual Kentucky versus Indiana All-Star game in Indianapolis, Indiana.

          Don attended Morehead State University on a full basketball scholarship, and started all four years while being named All-Ohio Valley Conference. He received his B.A. Degree from Morehead State in 1952.

          Don taught school and coached three years at Trimble County and Anderson County High Schools in Kentucky. He returned to Morehead State on a fellowship and received his Master’s Degree in 1956. In the fall of 1956, he accepted a teaching and coaching position at Pfeiffer College in Meisenheimer, North Carolina, where he stayed four years. Then he taught at Asbury College, in Wilmore, Kentucky, for five years. In 1966, Dr. Adrian Doran, President of Morehead State University, called Don back to teach full time. Three years later Dr. Doran granted Don a paid sabbatical to attend Indiana University to complete his Doctorate in Education. He focused on an emphasis in the instruction of student teachers and graduate students. Don received his Doctorate in Education in 1972, and supervised over 600 student teachers and more than 800 graduate students. Most of his students were from Eastern Kentucky, a place Don remembers fondly.

          “Eastern Kentucky is my former home,” Don says. “It’s a place I shall always hold close to my heart.”

          Don married Sue Carol Watts on Derby Day, May 5, 1951. She had been his head cheerleader, a role she learned well from her school days at Carr Creek. Sue encouraged him to continue the educational process and to write both The Carr Creek Legacy and The Over Time Kids. The couple continues to be ambassadors for Carr Creek academics, basketball and their beloved mountain heritage.

          Don and Sue have three children: Donnie Carroll (Sherry), Angela Kim (Doug) and Terry Michael (Karen). They have six granddaughters and one grandson: Erin and Sarah (Donnie), Caitlin and Erica (Kim), and Gabrielle, Rachael, and Seth (Terry). The whole family currently resides in Lexington, Kentucky.

          Don had two brothers, Sherrill (deceased ’07) and Winford “Wink” Miller. All three of the “Miller Boys” played basketball for Carr Creek High School.     

          Don and Sue are members of Calvary Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky.