Edward Anderson Miller Sr.

Edward Anderson Miller Sr., 76, of Fairbanks, passed away from complications of surgery, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
Ed was born Nov. 13, 1935, in St. Louis, Mo., to Hayword and Sue Miller.
He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1957. He served four years in the Air Force, then returned to civilian life for two years. He joined the U.S. Army in 1963. Shortly thereafter, Ed met and married Vivian. Together they had seven children, three boys and four girls.
Ed moved, with his family when possible, from Fort Hood to Fort Bliss to Seoul, South Korea, and back to Fort Bliss. In 1970, Sgt. Miller received orders for Fort Wainwright. Ed received orders back to Fort Bliss in December 1973, but nine months after leaving Fort Wainwright, Ed and his family returned to Alaska. He retired from the Army in 1976, and began work as a Civil Service employee at Family Housing in 1978. Ed retired in 2007, with 23 years as a Civil Service employee, four years after the death of his daughter, Dr. Janette Y. Shackles, in Ghana, West Africa.
Ed was active as a member of University Baptist Church, serving as Sunday school superintendent and bell ringer, and he was an ordained deacon.
He served as a Prince Hall mason from 1974 until his death in 2012, reaching the pinnacle of grand master for the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska. Ed served as a mason, a lion, and as deputy of the desert of Alaska for the shrine.
His eldest sister, Verne Fowler, of St. Louis, preceded him in death in 2010.
Ed is survived by his wife of 47 years, Vivian; his younger sister Mary E. Miller, of St. Louis; his sons James H. Shackles III, Michael L. Shackles and Edward A. Miller Jr.; daughters Angela Brown Hester, Pamela Martin Encarnacion and Anita Shackles-Miller; granddaughters Tasha and Shacara Shackles, Tamara Miller Pollen, Tonya and Crystal Brown, Christina and Contesa Encarnacion, Ignacia (Coffee) Berry, Daneille Goodwyn and Jami Lyn Shackles; and grandson Christerpher Encarnacion. Ed also has seven great-grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews, greatnieces and greatnephews he loved very much.
Services for Ed are scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15, 2012, at University Baptist Church, 1197 University Ave., Fairbanks. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall.