Obituary of Carl Otto Miller

Carl Otto Miller, of Foxdale Village, State College, died on November 5, 2015. He was 93. Born in Essen, Germany, on April 6, 1922, he was brought to the US in 1924. As a very young child he was a prodigy on the accordion, which he continued to play throughout his life, to the delight of audiences everywhere. After graduating from Alexis I. duPont High School in Wilmington, Delaware in 1940, he attended Maryville College, Tennessee. His studies were interrupted, however, and he joined the US Army, became an officer, and served in the 82nd Airborne Division as aide and interpreter to General James Gavin. It was in this role that he was actually the fourth man from the first plane to parachute into Normandy on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. He saw action in the Battle of the Bulge, and was part of the first airborne invasion over the Rhine into Germany in March of 1945. When the war ended, he stayed on in Germany as part of the Army of Occupation for DeNazification. He was honorably discharged as a Captain in 1950. He then pursued his studies at the University of Delaware, graduating with degrees in Music and Sociology. He taught music, English, German, and Russian in Wilmington and Seaford, Delaware, retiring in 1983. He was choir director in several Delaware churches, most notably St. John’s United Methodist Church in Seaford, and he directed community choruses throughout the State. Carl was a lifelong avid golfer, an operatic baritone, a serious chess player, a gifted thespian, and a fine teller of jokes. He was known for his gregarious outgoing personality and wicked sense of humor. He is survived by his wife of forty years, Shirley Phillips Miller, of Foxdale Village, his daughters Kristine Stott (Barry) of Chadds Ford, PA, and Carey Miller Zukoski (Peter) of Trappe, MD, his grandson Christopher Stott of Boulder, CO and his step-granddaughter Bre Stifler of Towson, MD. Also surviving is his former wife, the mother of his children, Barbara Clark of Hockessin, Delaware. A celebration of his life will take place on Sunday, November 22, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. in the Auditorium at Foxdale Village. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in Carl’s memory to the Foxdale Village Training and Tuition Fund or the Foxdale Village Employee Appreciation Fund, 500 E Marylyn Avenue, State College, PA, 16801. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.