Corrections officer at prison near Gig Harbor dies following COVID-19 complications
Officers across the state gathered Wednesday to honor Jay Miller, a long-time state correctional officer.
Many at his memorial at the Church for All Nations in Parkland said they remembered him as someone with a smile who was always eager to help others.
Miller, 56, died “after a long battle with COVID-19 complications,” Melissa Johnson, public information officer for the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) near Gig Harbor, told the Gateway on Wednesday.
His death is considered to be in the line of duty, she said. The complications began after Miller caught the virus during an outbreak at the prison in 2021, Johnson said.
Across all Washington State Department of Corrections locations they’ve had 6,459 confirmed COVID-19 cases and four deaths among staff, Chris Wright, DOC communications director, told the Gateway. The WCCW has had 395 cases among staff. Miller is the only staff member at the prison who has died from COVID-19 complications, according to those records.
There have been 16,382 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths among inmates at all DOC locations. 493 of those cases and no deaths were recorded from the WCCW, Wright said.
“Jay was a lot of things” Darren Gooding, a correctional officer at the WCCW, told the Gateway. “He wanted everyone to know they could count on him, and we did.”
Miller was an Army veteran. He and Gooding began as part of DOC’s Emergency Response Team, and later worked as transport officers together at the WCCW for nearly 30 years.
Gooding said they were like two brothers, always messing with each other.
The transport team at the WCCW has eight officers.
“We spend a lot of time on the road together, you become extremely close,” Sergeant Shauna Blithe said.
The team transports inmates to and from county jail, medical outings, court appearances, and other places as needed, Gooding said.
Miller was respected by the inmates at WCCW, who’ve been giving staff their condolences, Blithe said.
“He united our team,” Blithe said.
“He always checked in on you,” Gooding said. “This job can be difficult at times, but Jay was always there.”
Miller would stop and tell his colleagues to take a moment (when they weren’t transporting anyone) to admire the snow on the mountains or fall leaves.
He admired the little things, Gooding said.
“We shared many moments of reflection together,” Blithe said. “In those moments it felt like nothing else mattered and we could just take a moment to breathe.”
Blithe and Miller both have sons around the same age and would often connect over them.
“You have friends, and then you have a little bubble with people close to you.” Gooding said. “I only let so many people into my bubble, and Jay was in mine.”
Miller didn’t hesitate to jump in when needed. Others knew Miller as a professional, happy guy, Gooding said.
“If he had time and you needed help with something, he would help you,” Sergeant Angie Shoffner said. “And he did it with a smile on his face. Even if he was just stopping by the office and saying hi.”
When faced with a problem, he handled it professionally and made you feel at ease, Lieutenant Dan Simons told the Gateway.
“Jay was someone I could turn to without hesitation,” Simons told the Gateway. “He was the type of officer that, if he was halfway to Ellensburg and I needed him to turn around and go to Benton County, he’d say no problem and make it happen.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
