Longtime Carbon County deputy coroner Robert W. Miller Jr. can now drop the deputy part of his designation.

Miller was sworn in Monday as the county's new coroner, replacing Bruce Nalesnik, who did not seek another term.Miller won the office in an unconventional way. He ran for the Democratic nomination in last May's primary against Daniel Blazosky of Nesquehoning. He was defeated by Blazosky but won the Republican nomination on write-in votes. He then defeated Blazosky in the general election in November.Miller served as a deputy coroner for 26 years and was certified to the position in 1992 and continued annual training since.He is a lifelong resident of Carbon County and a resident of Lehighton. He earned a bachelor's degree with a minor in anatomy at Drexel University.Miller began working for the New Jersey Zinc Company, where he achieved a safety supervisor position, and went on to The Kemper Group as an industrial hygiene consultant.He provided industrial hygiene consultations to clients all over the country, and in 2010 he spent the summer in New Orleans assisting in the cleanup of an oil spill which affected the area at the time from an oil rig disaster.Miller is married to the former Diana Fabian of Palmerton and has three stepchildren and one son, Robert.