Lion Gardiner Miles

1934 - 2020

Lion Gardiner Miles, age 86, died on December 25, 2020 at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. He lived in Stockbridge for over 40 years, and spent the last year and a half of his life at The Landing at Laurel Lake in Lee. A sensitive, smart, and generous man, he was respected and loved by all who knew him - a true gentleman!

Lion was born on March 17, 1934 in Pensacola Florida, the son of Lion Tyler Miles and Elizabeth Innes Lighthipe. He has an interesting family tree - his great-great grandfathers were John Tyler, president of the United States from 1841-1845, and St. George Tucker, a law professor at the college of William and Mary. The Tucker family home remains one of the original homes in Colonial Williamsburg.

Lion also came from a Navy family - his grandfather was Captain Alfred Hart Miles, who wrote the lyrics for the Navy fight song, "Anchors Aweigh" in 1906. And his father was Lieutenant Lion Tyler Miles, who died in World War II when his ship, the U.S.S. Asheville was sunk by the Japanese in the Battle of Sunda Strait off Indonesia. Lion continued the family tradition and joined the Navy, became a naval officer and pilot, and earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander. After the Navy, Lion became a captain for American Airlines and flew 707s and 727s for many years.

Besides flying, Lion also had a passion for history and studied at the College of William & Mary, and earned a Master's degree in History from Columbia University.

Lion was a seeker of knowledge, an avid researcher, with special interest in the American Revolution, Native American culture, local Berkshire history, and Genealogy. He lectured widely on Revolutionary War topics, and had several writings published in historical journals. Never one to withhold his opinion, he would often challenge exaggerated historical claims in his letters to the editor of the Berkshire Eagle.

A favorite pastime was reading the Berkshire Eagle and New York Times, and clipping articles. He loved books and amassed a huge private library, with clippings stuffed in every book. While at American Airlines, he would often request flight routes to cities with large historical archives, and then visit them on his layovers. Lion was never one to do research by simply looking up facts on a computer - he always wanted to consult original sources.

He was an honorary member of the Stockbridge-Munsee band of the Mohican Indians in Wisconsin, and would travel there and join their annual pow-wow gatherings. He marched with them at the opening of the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC in 2004 - members of that tribe would often stay in Lion's guest house in Stockbridge. He also compiled and published a Mohican-English translation dictionary.

Lion had other interests too - he enjoyed watching Johnny Carson every night, and loved classic movies (he taped 1000s of them on VHS from the TCM channel, and created a catalogued index). He was also a huge opera buff, kept an opera journal, and loved going to the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City at Lincoln Center. And he was always generous in sharing his favorite restaurants with family and friends; a dry Beefeater martini was his drink, and fresh oysters were his favorite food.

Lion also loved animals, especially his many cats and the wild birds and other animals (wild turkeys, black bears) that would venture into his backyard.

Lion is survived by his three daughters Margaret, Elizabeth, and Julie, all living in California, his younger sister Carmen, living in Massachusetts, and his favorite cat Christy.

Much gratitude to the staff at The Landing at Laurel Lake for providing extra care and attention to Lion during this difficult year. He especially loved the musical performances, and playing poker with his friends there.

Due to the Covid pandemic, a celebration of Lion's life will be planned for a later date.