WILLIAM MILLER

1931 - 2019

MILLER Ambassador William Green Miller August 15,1931-September 22, 2019 Ambassador William Green Miller, aged 88, passed away peacefully September 22, 2019 at his home in Hollin Hills, near Alexandria, Virginia, surrounded by his wife of 65 years, Suzanne Lisle Miller, and his sons William Lisle of Washington, DC and Christopher Green (Catherine) of Arlington, Virginia. He is also survived by his four granddaughters Caroline, Claire, Nina and Emily, and his brother Dr. Arthur Green Miller (Lourdes), a noted artist, art historian and archaeologist, of Seville, Spain and Oaxaca, Mexico. The funeral service will be 10 a.m. Monday, October 7 in Washington, DC at The Washington National Cathedral, with a reception to follow at the Cosmos Club. Miller rose to the highest levels of national public service as the first person from a family of second generation immigrants to attend college. His father Wallace Meyer Miller was the son of Russian and Polish parents who came to the United States in the 1890's. His mother Marion Julia Green was the youngest daughter of William and Julia Green, both from Ireland. Born in Manhattan, he spent his childhood in Queens where he attended public school. He won a scholarship to the Trinity School in Manhattan, where he starred in football, basketball, baseball and track. He received a Stephen Tyng Schol- arship, Williams College's most prestigious award for incoming students, covering tuition through graduate school. He studied English Literature with J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis at Magdalen College Oxford University, and then at Harvard University focused on the poetry of Sir Philip Sidney. In the U.S. Foreign Service of the Department of State, as staff to Senator John Sherman Cooper of Kentucky, as Staff Director of three Senate Committees, as a special envoy, and ultimately, Ambassador to Ukraine, he believed deeply in the genius of the U.S. Constitution, the separation of powers and the importance of freedom of speech and opportunity. Miller helped end the Vietnam War, limit nuclear weapons, and establish oversight of U.S. intelligence agencies. Whether in government service, as a professor and dean at the Fletcher School of Tufts University, a Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, or through non-governmental organizations such as the Wilson Center, the American Committee on U.S.-Soviet Relations, and Search for Common Ground, Miller advocated for democratic government that seeks peace, guarantees human rights and respects religious freedom. Throughout his career, he worked in close partnership with his beloved Suzanne. His colleagues and friends all recognized him for his integrity, respect of others, gentleness and persistence. A collector of books, music, and art, he expressed himself best through writing poetry, collected in Wreath of Friends. He loved to travel: across America to Alaska during college, Europe as a graduate student, and as a diplomat in the Middle East and former Soviet Union. He also loved his homes in Alexandria, Virginia and Little Compton, Rhode Island, where he tended trees and gardens, grape arbors, and fountains. To the end, his greatest pleasure was to watch birds and butterflies feed from the flowers and to hear the falling waters. Memorial contributions in Bill's honor may be made to: The Restoration Fund at Washington National Cathedral 3101 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, District of Columbia 20016Washington, District of Columbia 20016