Herbert Alexander Miller ’48

Herbert Alexander Miller ’48, of Blacksburg, Va., ended his earthly journey on March 28 peacefully at home. He was born March 3, 1927, in Chattanooga, Tenn., to Lottie Hunziker and John Lucas Miller. He graduated from Davidson (Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude) and from Union Theological (Presbyterian) Seminary in Virginia (M.Div.) in 1952 and later earned a doctor of ministry degree. He was awarded a graduate fellowship from Union and spent two years studying in Scotland at St. Andrews and at New College, University of Edinburgh. He served pastorates in Houston, Tex.; St. Louis, Mo; Pensacola, Fla.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Neenah, Wis.; and Peoria, Ill., before becoming an interim ministry specialist, serving churches in Montana, New Jersey, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, and Nassau, the Bahamas. Miller was moderator of the Synod of Florida. In Pensacola, he advocated for civil rights, especially for rational compliance with the court-ordered desegregation of schools. He had a distinguished career as a preacher, administrator, and pastor. From 2000-04 he spent regular periods of research in Atlanta, working on the history of Boys’ High, published as Boys’ High Forever. Miller was a lover of learning and books, acquiring a sizeable theological, literary, and historical library and enjoyed a lifelong love of classical music, lectures, and plays. He kept up with a multitude of friends; participated in Rotary, particularly the international exchanges; tried sculpting and painting; collected seascapes; and relished trips to Perdido Key on the Gulf Coast, return trips to Scotland, and time on the Oregon coast. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, John Lucas Miller, and a sister, Faith Dudley Ward. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Elva Marie Wallace Miller, 205 Woods Edge Ct., Blacksburg, VA 24060; daughters, Susan Catherine Churchill Miller, Deborah Lynn Elsworth Miller (Mark Wilmot Prosser), and Andrea Elizabeth Rutledge Miller-Bruce ’84 (Robert Wallace Bruce, Jr. ’84); brother, Edward Thomas Miller ’56 (Yvonne Raftelis Miller); sister, Martha Elizabeth Thompson; and grandchildren, Robert Wallace Bruce III, Ashley Marie Bruce, and Haydn Claire Cui Prosser; and a host of cousins, nieces, and nephews.