Dick and Charlotte Miller Make Estate-Plan Gift to Support the Center’s Future

Richard “Dick” Miller has had a life of many acts.

He spent more than two decades in the theater, performing and directing in regional theater, summer stock, and touring productions. He shared a Catskills Borscht Belt stage with comedian Shelley Berman. Paired with Hollywood legends Anne Bancroft and John Cassavetes, he was one of The Three Musketeers.

And a production of Noel Coward’s Present Laughter brought a bonus: with him in the cast was his future wife, Charlotte.

Dick’s next act was a career, first in advertising and then his own international marketing company. Those years took him around the world to meet with clients in England, Switzerland, Russia, and other spots.

They also brought him to Cape Cod, where he and Charlotte have lived since 1984. Charlotte, a speech pathologist, had roots on the Cape: she grew up spending summers in Chatham, where her parents were longtime producers at the Monomoy Theater.

It was on the Cape, surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Pleasant Bay, and Cape Cod Bay, that Dick discovered his next act: more than three decades of involvement in the world of marine conservation.

He joined and for several years chaired the Chatham Waterways Committee. Through this he became more aware of the vulnerable resources of his new home. “I think the value of water quality was not well understood at that time, and it was important to recognize this as a very important issue,” he remembers from his home overlooking the Namequoit River.

It was during that time he first worked with the Center’s co-founder and scientist emeritus, Dr. Graham Giese. “He is one of nicest men I’ve ever met and was an absolute gem to work with,” says Dick. Graham’s long-term investigation of the Chatham coastline correctly predicted how the land and sea would change over time from the effects of sea level rise, coastal erosion, and other causes. Those findings continue to help management officials protect vulnerable areas.

Dick also devoted his time to help develop a comprehensive management plan for Pleasant Bay, a widely used body of water with 71 miles of shoreline in four separate Cape Cod towns. His dedication brought an invitation to join the Center’s Board of Directors, where he served for a decade.

From the Center, he says, “I gained a free education in marine life and associated industries. It added a whole new dimension to my life.”

Part of that education was learning that good science requires good tools—like boats. “Our little ‘fleet’ was very modest,” remarks Dick of his early days with the Center. “We knew we had to have better and safer access to the water, in part to increase our observation and care of marine mammals.” Dick’s fundraising expertise helped the Center raise the funds to purchase a larger, sturdier research vessel, dubbed Shearwater.

Dick and Charlotte have remained loyal contributors to the Center, including making the organization a beneficiary in their estate plan. “Charlotte and I have both identified organizations with whom we have worked that we feel make a difference in society, and certainly the Center is one of them,” says Dick. “They have been a pivotal organization in drawing attention to the fragility of the resources of our waters and ocean. They’ve been very foresighted, and pioneers.”

Along with the personal connection from having worked closely with the Center, Dick says he and his wife have confidence in the organization to succeed into the future.

“One of the hallmarks of a well-run nonprofit is the percent of income spent on administration. It should be in the very low numbers, and the Center has always done well in that regard. In other words, the money is well spent.”