Fred Miller

Fred Donald Miller, 92, of Hanover, Alabama, peacefully passed away on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, in Collierville, Tennessee. He was a devoted husband to Jessie Marie (Kelley) Miller of Rockford, Alabama, and a beloved father to children Donna Jean Johnson, Patricia Lynn Tully, Neal Fredrick Miller, and Barry Christopher Miller.

He was the son of Asa Ira Miller and Odessa Dee (Abernathy) Miller, and grew up in the house in Hanover that his father and grandfather built. He helped his father with simple blacksmith chores as early as 5 years old and worked in the fields before and after school. In high school in Hanover, he drove a school bus at the age of 15 and excelled at playing basketball. He was inducted into the Army in 1953 and served in Germany as a Corporal Technician, climbing telephone poles and fixing communication and power lines after WWII. On May 20, 1955, he married his high school sweetheart, Jessie, at the Kelley family home in Rockford, and moved to Birmingham, Alabama, to begin a family.

He was a hard-working, honest man who spent most of his career working in finance as a mortgage banker and loan officer in Birmingham. He was liked by business partners and people in the industry for his honest business and work ethic, his integrity, his creativity and ability to think out of the box, and his easy-going and friendly nature.

He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, woodworking, and gardening, and was a handyman and a mechanic who could fix or build anything. He enjoyed taking his family to the "old home place" in Hanover on the weekends, where he could help maintain the property and enjoy the outdoors with his children. He and his wife, Jessie, were both interested in genealogy, and they served a genealogy mission for their church. They have traced the family's history back many generations.

He was a devoted husband and wonderful father, known in the family as "wise Solomon", as he dispensed wisdom, discipline, and love equally and taught his children and grandchildren life lessons at every chance. He was loved by childhood, business, and church friends with whom he stayed in contact throughout the years, and was predeceased by most of them. He was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

He is survived by his four children and their spouses, Donna Johnson (Stephen), Lynn Tully (Steve), Neal Miller and Barry Miller (Marylou Saward) and 11 grandchildren: Derek Tully, Brad Johnson, Jake Miller, Mark Tully, Cathy (Tully) Woodruff, Lauren (Johnson) Munden, Brittany (Johnson) Hesterly, Matthew Tully, Mason Miller, Nicholas Miller and Benjamin Miller including granddaughters in law Tatum (Brad) Johnson, Serena (Jake) Miller, and grandsons in law, Wesley (Cathy) Woodruff, Cameron (Lauren) Munden and Alex (Brittany) Hesterly.

He is also survived by 12 great-grandchildren: Presley, Jagger, Harrison, Hallie, Lennon, Stevie, Kenna, Quincy, Jovi, Josie, Denver, and West.

He was predeceased by an unnamed brother who died at birth, his brother Robert Adolphus Miller, and his sisters Avis Lavern Miller, Annie Lou Hammond, Emma Leo Miller.

A short memorial and graveside service with military honors will be held at 12:00 noon, on Sunday, January 18, 2026, at Andrews Chapel Methodist Church and Hanover Cemetery, Coosa County Road 49, Hanover (Rockford), Alabama.