Chester Kalaus Miller, 98, of Vero Beach, passed away on Dec. 25, 2015.
He is survived by his daughter Virginia Irene Miller (William Robert DuPriest) of Coral Gables, and his son Keith Brian Miller (Melissa Tannen Miller) of Hollywood, Fla.
He was predeceased by his wife, Marie, and a son, Alexander Howard Miller.
Born in 1917 in Bridgeport, Conn., in 1920, his family moved to Miami where he graduated from Miami Edison High School. He met his wife Ethel Marie Haeger in the First Christian Church of Miami, and they were married there in 1942.
A sergeant in the Army Air Corps, Miller-a former bookkeeper with Ryder Trucking Company-was a Personal Affairs Consultant advising other airmen on their finances, life insurance, income tax and government assistance. He was awarded the World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Marksman Medal, and Good Conduct Medal.
Miller was a Scoutmaster and a lifetime member of American Legion Post 98 in Coral Gables. Before military service he managed a large tourist camp and worked with the Works Progress Administration, for Southern Bell, for the First National Bank of Miami, as an ornamental iron worker with Powell Iron Works and a mosquito inspector for the State of Florida.
Miller was a U.S. Postal letter carrier on Miami Beach for 39 years. In 1956 Miller was featured in three local newspapers for receiving the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce Courtesy Award. He was a lifetime member of Branch 1071 of the National Association of Letter Carriers and served as a reporter for the union’s newspaper. He also was President of the First Christian Church of Miami’s Fidelis Bible Class and a columnist for its newsletter.
He and his wife, the late Marie Miller, moved to Vero Beach in 1978 and spent their summers in a creekside cabin built by her father, George B. Haeger, on a mountain east of Burnsville, N.C. They were award-winning square dancers and loved to entertain others while dressed in costumes.
Miller was a founder of his church’s amateur talent night and served as its emcee, continuing that tradition by telling jokes to everyone he met.
Marie was a real estate agent, and they purchased numerous properties in Indian River County and in North Carolina, selling them whenever they wanted to take an extended trip. They travelled to all 50 states and to 30 different countries, from China to Egypt and India, documenting their travels in dozens of scrapbooks.
A devout Christian and lifelong member of the First Christian Church, Miller was an elder emeritus of the First Christian Church of Vero Beach and annually contributed to dozens of charities.
Public visitation will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, in the First Christian Church, 1927 27th Avenue, Vero Beach, with a memorial service at 2 p.m., followed by a reception at the church. A brief graveside observance will precede interment next to his beloved Marie at Crestlawn Cemetery.
