Kingston, Ontario, farrier Paul Miller recently passed away, according to James Reid Funeral Home. He was 45.

Miller was a “skilled blacksmith and horseman, lifelong learner of languages and music, culinary master and consummate host, and generous provider and faithful friend,” according to his obituary. He is the former president of the Ontario Farriers Association.

“Paul always encouraged and worked towards education is farriery,” according to a Facebook post by the Association des Maréchaux-Ferrants du Quebec. “He organized numerous clinics, certification exams, and was also a role model for young farriers.”

Winchester, Ontario, farrier Sarah MacFarlane credits Miller as a mentor who influenced her career.

“Paul helped me a lot during my career beginnings and indeed worked on a few of my own horses for a while,” she writes. “Quite a few of the positioning and horse comfort tricks you'll see me use daily come straight from Paul. [His death is an] absolutely tragic loss for his family, friends and clients.”

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Sept. 21, 2024, in the chapel of the James Reid Funeral Home, 1900 John Counter Blvd., in Kingston. Interment will be at Sandhill Cemetery, in Battersea.