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MILLER, JAMES "JIM" KING, 87, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on October 27, 2011.
A native Louisvillian, he graduated from St. Columba in 1938 and St. Xavier High School in 1942 lettering in track, baseball, and football. As a scholarship freshman, he was a member of the University of Tennessee 1943 Sugar Bowl Championship football team. He enlisted in the US Army and fought in the European Theater during World War II as a member of 42nd Infantry Rainbow Division. For his service, he earned The Purple Heart, The Bronze Star, and the Prisoner of War Medals. He played baseball at the University of Louisville and graduated in 1949. He was an assistant football coach at Flaget High School from 1947-1959. Jim ran the family owned Miller Transfer and Storage Company and established Miller Photography.
He directed the Louisville Thoroughbred Chorus (1963-1985) and Cincinnati's Southern Gateway Chorus (1986, 1990-1995), SPEBSQSA, Inc. He sang in two district championship quartets, The Derbytowners and The Citations. The Citations went on a USO tour to Vietnam in 1972. He also directed Louisville's Kentuckiana and Derby City Choruses of Sweet Adelines International. He was inducted into the SPEBSQSA, Cardinal District, Johnny Appleseed District, PPAGL, Southern Gateway Chorus, and St. Xavier Halls of Fame. Other accomplishments include Director Emeritus of Southern Gateway and The Thoroughbred Choruses, Joe Liles Lifetime Achievement Award in Directing, eight chorus championships, and a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He was an All-State football and baseball player and participated in the All-star games of each.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Rosemary (Mershon) Miller; daughters, Donna Crutcher (Ray) and Kathleen Hawkins (Jay); grandchildren, William "Billy" King Crutcher (Shannon), Stephanie Crutcher, Kristina Wheaton (Andrew), and James "JJ" Hawkins; and great-grandchildren, Caroline Crutcher and Jodie King Crutcher.
A memorial Mass will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, where Jim was a charter member, on Saturday November 19, 2011 at 10 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to the Jim Miller Scholarship for Barbershop Chorus Directors, the WHAS Crusade for Children (credit to FCFD), or Kentucky Right to Life Association.
Published in The Courier-Journal on November 1, 2011
