Joseph Chamberlain

PEORIA - Joseph Miles Chamberlain, 88, of Peoria died on Monday, Nov. 28, 2011, at Lutheran Hillside Village.

Born July 26, 1923, in Peoria to Maurice S. and Roberta Miles Chamberlain, he married Paula Jane Bruninga on Dec. 12, 1945, in San Pedro, Calif. She survives.

Also surviving are three daughters, Janet Flinchbaugh (and Terry) of State College, Pa., Susan Cardwell (and Richard) of Alamo, Calif., and Barbara Vetterick (and Gerald) of Temple City, Calif.; four grandchildren; one brother, Thad Chamberlain of Panama; and one sister, Barbara Abegg of Dallas, Texas.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Maurice Chamberlain.

He graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point in New York and Bradley University in Peoria. He received his doctorate from Columbia University in New York City.

He taught astronomy, celestial navigation and meteorology at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy for five years. He then served as chairman of the American Museum-Hayden Planetarium in New York City for 12 years and as assistant director of the American Museum of Natural History for four years and as president and director of the Adler Planetarium in Chicago for 23 years until his retirement in 1991.

He was an organizer of the International Planetarium Directors Conference and served as chairman for 12 years, and was a longtime member of the American Association of Museums, serving as president from 1974 to 1975.

While a student at the Merchant Marine Academy, he was assigned to ships of the Merchant Marine on convoy duty in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Upon graduation, he was enrolled in the U.S. Navy and assigned to the Pacific Fleet as a navigator until the end of World War II.

Cremation rites have been accorded and a private family memorial service will be held at a later date.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.thewiltonmortuary.com.

Memorial contributions may be made to Methodist Hospice of Peoria or the First Federated Church of Peoria.