Charles Somers Miller

1945 - 2023

Charles Somers Miller
April 26, 1945 - August 25, 2023
Beaufort, South Carolina - Charles Somers Miller, 78, died Friday, August 25, 2023 at Candler St. Joseph's Hospital in Savannah, GA after complications from pneumonia.

Somers was the son of the late Klaire Jones Miller Lucie and Robert Pierpont Miller. He was born at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, where his father had been stationed in the U.S. Army, but soon moved to Savannah, Georgia where he spent his formative years. He attended Jenkins High School (1962), where he was selected commencement speaker. He graduated from Emory University (1966) and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He went on to complete an MBA at the University of Georgia and an MA in History at The University of Tennessee where he also pursued Doctoral work.

Somers and Alice met at the University of Georgia and they were married 53 years. After living in Charlotte, NC where he taught Economics and Knoxville, TN, where he taught History, they moved to Beaufort, SC where he spent his career as a U.S. History Professor at the University of South Carolina Beaufort campus until he retired in 2010.

Somers had a passion for research and was selected by the SC Attorney General to determine the location of the mouth of the Savannah River, and evaluate state dividing lines, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. Another example of his thorough approach led to the development of a film, One Third of a Nation, which aired on PBS in 1983, and won first prize in the UK's Golden Harp social history documentary competition.

Somers was a member of the following organizations: The Society of Colonial Wars, The Society of the Cincinnati, and St. Marks Episcopal Church. He was a former Board Member of the SC Humanities council and past President of the Beaufort Historical Society.

He was a lifelong learner later and continued to further his education by attending Penn State University to advance his career. Somers will always be remembered as a great conversationalist, an appreciator of books, fine arts and culture. He had an excellent memory and sharp mind. His family often relied on him as a resource who could cite historical data with remarkable precision, someone who could easily confirm or correct facts about a host of topics, and answer murky genealogical questions whenever needed.

With him goes an irreplaceable lifelong collection of historical research that only his mind knew, a fierce interest in family lineage and related genealogical pursuits, and a deep admiration for the foundation that our nation was built upon.

He is survived by Alice Beeler Miller of Beaufort, SC, daughter Alice Lawson Miller of Charleston, SC, son Payne (Jenny) Miller and grandchildren Olivia, Ella and Sadie Miller of Toronto, Canada, and sister Susan (Stephen) Wunder of Duncan, SC.

A private family gathering will be held at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA. Offerings in his memory may be made to the Georgia Historical Society or NAMI Lowcountry (SC).