Obituary of Charles Joseph Miller

Charles Joseph Miller died on May 28, 2017, at age 91, with his daughters by his side. He was born in Lonaconing, Maryland, on November 13, 1925, and was the cherished son of Nellie and Joe Miller. Chuck was a talented and beloved camp counselor, basketball coach, history teacher, and lower school principal, who loved the beauty of a hike in the Balsams, the excitement of coaching a close basketball game, the challenge of a great history lesson, and the wonder seen in young students. He graduated from Central High School in Lonaconing, where he played on the basketball team that won the Western Maryland Interscholastic championship. He served as a Staff Sergeant in World War II in the Army Corps of Engineers and was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and a graduate degree from Tulane University and began his coaching and teaching career in New Orleans at Metairie Park Country Day School. He would return in later years to have lunch and swap stories with a group of basketball players he had coached. He spent 35 summers at Camp Mondamin in Tuxedo, North Carolina, where he gave wise counsel and wisecracks to both campers and young counselors. Chuck loved teaching, a profession he felt honored to be a part of. He was the head of lower schools at various private schools in South Carolina and retired from teaching in Florence, South Carolina. He moved to Chattanooga in 2013, living at Alexian Village on Signal Mountain and then at Thrive Assisted Living at Brow Wood on Lookout Mountain. He was preceded in death by his parents, Nellie Boettcher and George Joseph Clinton Miller; his brother William Louis “Buddy” Miller; and his wife Ann Guthrie Miller. He is survived by his niece, Patti Miller Sharp. He was a caring and loving father to his two daughters Susan Miller Howick of Lookout Mountain, TN, and Amy Miller Lapeyre and to her husband Chuck Lapeyre of Metairie, LA. He was a beloved Granddaddy to Hope (Michael) Shelton, Meg (Chas) Torrence, and Michal Howick; Charles Lapeyre, Kathryn Lapeyre, and Becca Lapeyre. And a bemused and delighted great-grandfather to Charlie Torrence, Jack Shelton, Eloise Shelton, and Miller Torrence. We would like to thank Hospice of Chattanooga for their help and care at our father’s end. We would like to thank Teresa Harmon for her assistance, her good nature, and her willingness to stop for a Frosty after his doctor appointments. We would especially like to thank the loving and wonderful staff at Thrive. He was greatly appreciative of the attentive staff, whom he considered to be family. We could not have asked for a more dedicated, kind, and professional group of caregivers and friends for our father. A family memorial service will be held at a later date followed by burial at the National Cemetery in Florence, South Carolina. If you would like to honor his memory, please consider a gift to the Frank and Calla Bell Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 1192, Flat Rock, North Carolina, 28731, Metairie Park Country Day School at 300 Park Road, Metairie, Louisiana, 70005, or any school of your choice. Arrangements are by Wann Funeral Home & Cremation Center at the foot of historic Lookout Mountain, St. Elmo. (423) 821-7551 Share your memories at www.wannfuneralhome.com