A kind and gentle father and devoted husband, Roy Chester Miles has gone to be with the Lord, in the company of his wife Evelyn, son Robert, his siblings William, Charlotte, Reid and Maude Ethel, and all family who were born before him. On September 12, 2012, he passed away quietly in the home he loved. He is survived by his son Daniel, and his nieces and nephews.
Chester was born in Grafton, West Virginia on March 19, 1922 to parents Roy and Maude Miles. In 1929, the family moved to Ivy Cliff Farm, near the ancestral Miles home. Here they worked 160 acres of land by hand and with draft animals. Until the World War II era, the family lived without the convenience of electricity, plumbing, telephone, radio, or even a thermometer. During that time, New London Road was miles of dirt or mud, and the trip to Lynchburg was a twice-a-year adventure. Following his father\"™s early death, and later the attack on Pearl Harbor, Chester joined the Navy while still a boy, and sent his earnings home to his mother. He survived the sinking of the air craft carrier U.S.S. Wasp in the South Pacific. During the war he met his wife Evelyn at a U.S.O. He went on to join the Air Force, serving in the Korean War as an aircraft mechanic. After being stationed at several locations across the U.S. and Canada, he retired from the Air Force and brought his family to Ivy Cliff to be with his mother in 1964. Here he built the house where he would spend the rest of his life. He enjoyed a long retirement from work at General Electric.
Never wanting much for himself, he preferred to live simply, creating new things from the discarded and bringing renewal to the worn. My father passed to me the blessings and knowledge of living in the country that would shape my life and career. Going on Christmas tree hunts, tending a vegetable garden, building home improvements and all the rock work from stones we gathered during adventures on the land are among the memories I will cherish. He taught right from wrong by example, not by lecture. Walking in the footsteps of Christ came naturally to him. He lived a life completely without vice. He enjoyed giving others a helping hand, and was the kind of person who was liked by all who met him. He was as kind and loving a person as I have ever known.
Much gratitude is due to loving family members and friends, and to our caregiver Mable Smith, whose caring and loving kindness during the final months of my parents lives has exceeded all we could have imagined.
In lieu of flowers or gifts, please send donations to Court Street United Methodist Church, Lynchburg, VA. A memorial service to the lives of Chester and Evelyn Miles will be held there in the near future.