Ray Miller, the owner of the former Fair Haven Esso/Exxon passed away recently.

So, Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect is honoring him as the Retro Pic (Slideshow) of the Day honoring good neighbors.

While he was known for his iconic caring curmudgeon-like personality, when Ray Miller smiled, it was real and he meant it.

Nothing made him smile more than giving a kid or new teen driver a little fatherly scolding for safety’s sake, helping a young one inflate his bike tires, selling a couple of dollars worth of gas without a snarl, and sometimes offering a child a little something to make his or her day.

Once there was a little girl who used to visit the station regularly with her dad. Always hanging out the window, checking everything out on a ride, the little girl noticed those tiger tails that Esso had been selling as part of the former “Put a Tiger in Your Tank” promotional campaign.

She didn’t care a bit about the promo. She just thought that the tails looked pretty cool; and she really wanted one. She asked her dad and he tried to brush it off nicely, probably because if he bought that tail, he wouldn’t have money for gas.

One day the little girl was whining a little more than usual about it. While Ray pumped the gas, he overheard her asking her dad while staring at the thing with an, albeit odd, sense of longing.

So, he finished pumping the gas, told her dad to wait a minute and he came back to the car, handed the little girl the tiger tail and said, “That’s on me, kid” with a wink and a smile.

It made her day and saved her dad a little embarrassment. That little girl was me.

Thank you, Ray Miller, for those cherished moments of neighborliness that did not go unnoticed.

And thanks for never giving a grumble, but always a smile and a “How are ya, buddy?” when my dad bought his usual major purchase of $5 worth of high test.

These are the things that people tend to remember when a good neighbor dies. It’s doubtful that anyone’s heard a eulogy that included the market value of someone’s home instead of stories like these.

— Opinion piece and slideshow/Elaine Van Develde

— Photos/courtesy of Peggy Miller