Our Friend Nick.....
July 16, 1967 - December 23, 2003
Me and Nick (left) at a friend's wedding in 1993
January 2004
By: Matthew McGowan
I would like to take an opportunity to say a few words
about my good friend, Nick Miller.
Many of our regular customers knew Nick well. For those who don't know, Nick was found in his car at about 2:45 a.m., December 23rd, in the 2200 block of Millvale Court with several gunshot wounds. Police said they also found bullet holes in other vehicles parked along the street. Nick was then taken to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was only 36 years old.
Nick was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the single finest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. You hear people all the time talking about "the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back." Well, that was Nick. He treated everyone he ever met with a kindness and decency that made me feel honored to know him, and made me strive to be a better person myself. I have seen Nick, when I knew he himself was down on his luck, give the last bit of money he had to a bum on the street to get something to eat. That was Nick, not at all worried about himself; instead, only concerned for the well-being of others, even those he didn't know.
Words cannot even begin to describe the loss all of us here at Campanello's feel right now. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Nick's family, who are all long-time good friends of our family. In fact, the Millers have been like family to us for as long as I can remember. For me, as well as all of us at the restaurant, this especially rang true of Nick. He was a brother in the truest sense of the word, and he will be sorely missed.
Our good friend Nick was Cincinnati's 72nd homicide victim of 2003. The final toll for this past year was 75 dead, making it the most murderous year in our city since 1977. The new year wasn't even 48 hours old before the city recorded its first homicide of 2004.
Cincinnati, this has got to stop. Now.
We love you Nicky......see you on the other side, brother!
May God Bless Us All.