Obituary of John Marchal Miller, Jr.

DeKalb Jct. – John Marchal “Jack” Miller, Jr., 85, DeKalb Jct. passed away Saturday, April 25, 2015, at Canton-Potsdam Hospital with his loving family by his side. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, April 28th from 2-4 & 6-8 PM at Lawrence Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 21 Park Street, Canton. His funeral will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 29th at 10:00 AM in the First Presbyterian Church of Canton with Rev. Michael P. Catanzaro and Assoc. Pastor Donna Doig co-officiating. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery, Canton. He was Born in Buffalo, NY on April 23, 1930 to John Marchal Miller and Helen Caroline Jaeger Miller. He grew up in Kenmore, NY. He married Albertha Jewel “Tyke” Benz on January 25, 1952 at Central Church of Christ, Disciple in Buffalo, NY. Jack served during the Korean War in the Navy Reserves for 7 years in Buffalo, NY, taking his two week cruises all over the Atlantic Ocean during this time. He was a Personal Man Interviewer, so through his work , many thousands of men and women served their country in the Navy. Jack is survived by his wife Albertha Jewel whom he affectionately called “Tyke”. They were married 63 years. Also surviving are his son, John Marchal Miller, III of DeKalb Jct.; daughter, Holly Helen Miller of Rochester, NY; daughter, Lynn Jewel Miller of DeKalb Jct; granddaughter, Kelly Krista (Scott) Maas of Rochester; grandson, Paul (PJ) Joseph Miller and partner Amanda Lester of Plattsburgh; two great-grandchildren, Kaylee Amelia Maas and Logan Scott Maas, both of Rochester; niece, Kimberly (Rich) Bradway of Stockbridge, MA; nephew, Todd (Susan) Seeber of Wayland, MA; husband of deceased sister, Keith Seeber of Fort Plain, NY; niece, Deborah Driscoll of Baltimore, MD; nephew, Dennis (Julie) Oscar of West Bend, WI; nephew, Douglas (Janene) Oscar of Kenmore, NY and several grand nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Caroline Seeber and nephew Kyle Seeber. Jack & Tyke lived together on the family farm for in DeKalb Jct. for 36 years. With their son, John, III, they raised and sold pigs and goats for 25 years and have had large gardens. At Bell Aircraft Corp. in Niagara Falls, NY, Jack was a Project Weights and Balance Engineer with total responsibility for Bells Liquid Propellant Rocket Engine System’s single and multi chamber for America’s first cruise missiles. At that point he was one of only ten Rocket Weights and Balance Engineers in the USA and he worked directly under Dr. Walter Dornburger, former head of Germany’s rocket program during World War, II. He was very proud that it was that engine which lifted NASA’s Lunar Lander and the Astronauts off the Moon during the First Moon Landing in 1969. During the 40th anniversary of that landing, Jack was interviewed on camera by CBS Channel 7. Later, as a Group Weight’s Engineer at Republic Aviation Corp. on Long Island, NY, he supervised a group of seven engineers and technicians performing weight and moment of inertia determinations on the F-105 Fighter-Bomber fuselage. At Republic, he introduced the technique of chemical milling applied to the aircraft’s skin and structural members. He wrote the 327 page “Inter Communication Manual” for the first Atomic Submarine “Nautilus” which was used when the Nautilus cruised several hundred feet below an ice pack deep within the Arctic Circle. He was the Founder and President of “Miller Associates” a Public Relations Firm serving a wide variety of companies including Corning Glass in Canton, NY. In 1978, he wrote and produced a 180 page technical marketing document about a new high performance aircraft for the US Coast Guard. At SUNY Potsdam, he wrote and taught a 300 level course in Radio Journalism. Over many years he wrote scripts to advertise events on a local radio station for non-profit organizations. With his wife and daughter, Lynn, they taped the “30 second” spots which helped the organizations reach more people. At Hermon-DeKalb Central School, he Supervised and operated the school’s first Computer Labs with IBM’s “Writing to Read” and other educational programs on a Novel Network and installed two new CD-ROM systems in the Library. He taught Undergraduate and Graduate courses at SUNY Potsdam, Mater Dei College and SUNY Canton. While Advertising Manager at Pall Corporation, he programmed an IBM403 mainframe computer for a marketing database and mailing list of 35,000 industrial contacts. While at Mobil Oil Corp. International Divisions Communications Program, he wrote a 450 page handbook on operation air systems. He “ghost-wrote” hundreds of technical trade magazine articles and speeches and contributed to a number of technical books by publishers such as McGraw Hill. He prepared in depth forums on trends in the use of radiography for industrial non-destructive testing and a communications program on a new Computerized Clinical Decision Support System for the American Society of Internal Medicine. He prepared all of the collateral and marketing materials for promoting the world’s first Deep-field Scanning Photographic Microscope. As Director of Communications at Photomechanisms, Inc., he wrote operating and maintenance handbook for cineflurographic cameras which were used in medical X-ray studies in hospitals for many years. Also, he researched and wrote a 450 page handbook for NASA’s Nimbus Weather Satellite ground-based telemetry equipment. To research and gather information for his many articles he traveled often and to places with dangers his family did not know about until he arrived home. He spent time in many different kinds of mines, gold, coal and 3 miles in the Salt Mines under Lake Superior. He was at the top of the John Hancock Center in Chicago while it was still only steel work for an article on Non-destructive testing. He was 1,127 feet up at the base where the Radio Antenna would go. At that time, late 1960’s, it was the tallest building in the world outside of NY City. He was a member of the International Motor Press Assoc. (IMPA). He edited and published a Sports Car Magazine, “The Regional Review” for the New York Region, Sports Car Club of America and served as Contributing Editor to “Motorcycle World”, “Mechanix Illustrated” and “Science and Mechanics” magazines. With his son, John, III, they designed and built Canvas Kyack for “Mechanix Illustrated” Magazine. The plans for building the “King Canvas Back” are still available from the magazine and on-line. He was a member of MASCDCS (Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving & Chowder Society) which meets for lunch at Sardi’s Restaurant in NY City on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. He graduated from Kenmore high School in Kenmore, NY in June 1948. He was granted a B.S. Education with special certification in Science from SUNY Buffalo in June 1952. In May 1990, he received M.S. Education in Instructional Technology and Media Management from SUNY Potsdam. He was a member of Kappa Delta Pi, Honor Society for many years after graduating. He was a member of the Layfette Ave Presbyterian Church in Buffalo, NY. With his wife they were stage managers for the Couples Club Spring Play. He was an Elder serving six years on Session at First Presbyterian Church on the Park, Canton, NY. He and his wife were Communion Committee Chairmen for 14 years and they also updated the Lobby bulletin board during those years. With his son and wife, they owned the “New Light on Life” Traveling Museum. They have been performing what life was like during the Revolutionary War since 1974 in schools, for the NY State Historical Society and other groups. He wrote a play on the period which was performed by the students at Madrid-Waddington Central School. He was a Representative and Agency Manager for Metropolitan Life and Affiliated Companies. During that time he was a Leaders Conference Qualifier and President of Franklin/ St. Lawrence Chapter of National Assoc. of Underwriters 1984-1986. Some memberships and honors he received over the years are: 1.St. Lawrence County Planning Board, Senior Member and Executive Board since 2009. 2.Fort LaPresentation Assoc., Senior Board of Directors 9 years. 3.Behrhorst Clinic Foundation, Guatemala. Past Co-Chairman, Board of Directors. Had photos by him in Book, “Physician to the Mayas” by Edwin Barton. 4.American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronauties. 5.International Society for Technology in Education. 6.SIG Logo Special Interest Group for LOGO Educators. 7.Society of Aeronautical Weights Engineers. 8.Sigma Upsilon, National Honorary Literary Society 9.Sigma Tau Gamma, Social Fraternity Past President, NY State Alumni Chapter. 10.Society of Descendants of Henry Wolcott Life Member, Vice President, NY State and Past National Vice President. 11.Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), Past Long Island Chapter President, 2 terms. 12.Since 1977 to the Present, member of Veteran Corps of Artillery, Staff Sgt. Ordinance, Headquarters Company (VCA) is the oldest Army Reserve Unit in the US. Jack was very proud of and enjoyed being a Husband, Father, Grandfather and Great-Grandfather. He would do anything for and with his family. Even though he wrote for a living, he enjoyed writing for relaxation and especially pleasure. He wrote poetry, 55 Word Stories, Haiku and Prose. For leisure he enjoyed camping with his family and working as a Flagger at the Sports Car Races all over the Northeast. Jack had a strong Faith in God and was a descendant of Oliver Wolcott, signer of the Declaration of Independence and The Articles of Confederation. His 6th grandfather, Elisha Wolcott was a hat-maker for General Washington, a friend of the Family, during the Revolutionary War. “Faith in God, Love of Country, Proud of Oliver and Elisha Wolcott.” Memorial contributions may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Canton or to the Wolcott Foundation.