William Miles - Obituary

ILES, WILLIAM WARD, 94, died peacefully at home in Annapolis, MD, on February 23, 2015. Mr. Miles is the beloved husband of the late Margaret Norton Miles and father of Margo Michalak and Mignon Percival; son of the late William Grafton Miles and Mamie Ward Miles of Darnestown, MD; and, brother of the late Dorothy Miles of Silver Spring, MD, Helen Wells of Gaithersburg, MD, and Betty Kehoe of Oakland, MD. He is also the grandfather of Mark Michalak, Paul Michalak (Lindsay), Drew Percival, and Sara Percival. Mr. Miles was born on December 27, 1920, in Darnestown, MD, where he attended Darnestown Elementary School, and then graduated from Gaithersburg High School in 1938. He was a graduate of the University of Maryland in 1942 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture Education and a Master of Science Degree in 1952. He was a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. In 1943 Mr. Miles taught at Snow Hill High School in Snow Hill, MD, and at Berlin High School, Berlin, MD. After the school year was over, he was inducted into the U.S. Army Air Corps Officers’ Candidate School. He trained at Boca Raton, FL, and at Yale University in New Haven, CT. After being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, he was stationed at Camp Springs, MD, now the Andrews Air Force Base. He proudly served in the Pacific Theater in Okinawa during World War II for one and a half years. Upon return to Darnestown in 1946, Mr. Miles re-entered the teaching profession at Poolesville High School, Poolesville, MD, and Damascus High School, Damascus, MD. That year he also married the former Margaret Bell Norton, a third-generation Washingtonian of Potomac, MD, and they lived in Damascus for 34 years. In 1954 Mr. Miles was appointed Assistant Principal of Sherwood High School, Sandy Spring, MD. Two years later he became Principal of Sherwood High School, Sandy Spring, MD. In 1963, he served in the Planning Department of the Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD. Then in 1964 he was appointed Principal of Richard Montgomery High School, Rockville. Mr. Miles opened the new John T. Baker Middle School in Damascus in 1971 and was Principal until his retirement in June 1975. Mr. and Mrs. Miles moved to the Annapolis, MD, area on the Severn River in 1979 where they enjoyed boating and many water-related activities. In 1988, they moved to an adult community, Heritage Harbour, in Annapolis. Mr. Miles had been President of the Damascus Lions Club, was active in the Damascus Methodist Church, the Montgomery County Hospital Board of Directors, the Montgomery County Cotillion and the Rockville Rotary Club. He served as chairman of many secondary school accreditations and was author of many articles in educational journals. He was a member of the Annapolis Yacht Club, the American Legion Post #7, and the Darnestown Presbyterian Church. Family and friends may visit at the Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater, MD, from 4:30-6:30pm, Friday, February 27, or at the Darnestown Presbyterian Church, 15120 Turkey Foot Rd., Darnestown, MD, on Saturday, February 28, from 11:30am-12:30pm, with a brief graveside service to follow at 12:30pm. If desired, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warriors Project.