Joseph Percy Miles

Joseph Percy Miles, a lumber entrepreneur who once designed an entire sawmill on a paper placemat at a seafood restaurant, died last Saturday, October 14, 2006 at his home in Lumberton, MS, after a battle with lung cancer. He was 88. Miles's friends and family often joked that ""J.P.,'' as he was known, did nothing in moderation if he could do it in excess. In the 1960s, for instance, he bought his own plane and got his pilot's license, which he used for family vacations. He learned to play tennis at age 60 and was noted for his evil slices and spins. But more important, he was wonderfully excessive in his embrace of life, his family, and his community. The longtime Lumberton resident was born in Slidell, LA on October 3, 1918. In 1921, he moved to Nicaragua, where his father worked for a lumber company and his late brother Roy was born in 1924. During World War II, the two brothers served in the U.S. Army in the European Theater, and in 1946, they became partners in Joe N. Miles and Sons Lumber, the Lumberston, MS, business their father founded in 1934. As a businessman, Miles was excessively savvy and inventive. Until the time of his death, he served as Chairman of the Board of Joe N. Miles and Sons Inc., a successful family-owned corporation with sawmills in Lumberton, MS, Silver Creek, MS and Bogalusa, LA. An inventive problem solver, Miles was instrumental in designing much of the mills' machinery, often sketching plans on paper napkins and placemates. He held several patents on his designs, including one for a radiator cap remover, which he later sold to Prestone through Union Carbide Corp. Miles also devoted a great deal of time to the Lumberton United Methodist Church and to his community. At various times, he served as the President of the Lumberton Rotary Club, as President of the Board of the Lumberton Line Consolidated School, as a Director of the Mississippi Economic Council, and as a Director of the Lumberton Citizens Hospital. He also served on the boards of the Lumberton State Bank, First Mississippi National Bank, as well as on the Board and the Executive Committee of Southern Forest Products Association. He is survived by his wife, the former Martha Taylor of Lumberton, MS; five children, including: Nan Miles Einhart of Pensacola, FL, Duddy Miles and wife, Debbie of Poplarville, MS, Johnny Miles of Bogalusa, LA, Nicki Miles and wife, Bobbie of Covington, LA and Joanna Miles-Basta and husband, Nick of New York, NY; five grandchildren; and 1 great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Rebecca Manning Miles in 1969; as well as his three siblings: Leroy E. Miles, Margaret Miles Montgomery and Cora Mae Miles Lines. Services were held Tuesday, October 17, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. at Lumberton United Methodist Church with visitation beginning at 1:00 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to the Lumberton United Methodist Church or Forrest General Hospital. HULETT-WINSTEAD FUNERAL HOME is in charge of arrangements.