Francis J. Miller, 1950 (Basketball and Baseball)
A 1950 graduate of Syracuse University’s School of Education Francis J. Miller, Jr. was a four-time basketball letterwinner (1944, 1947-50) under the direction of head coach Lewis Andreas. During the 1949-50 season he was captain of the basketball team. In addition, he was a two-time baseball letterwinner (1948-49). He was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the Phi Kappa Alpha senior mens honorary while at Syracuse. In 1944 Miller left school to serve in the United States Navy, where he was active until 1946 when he was discharged with the rank of Pharmacist 3rd Class.
After graduating from Syracuse, Miller spent 16 years in sales and marketing for Curtice Brothers Company in Rochester, N.Y. He also served as the frozen food division sales manager for Curtice Burns Inc. In 1970 he began a career in education at Greece Athena High School as the curriculum coordinator and served as a health and physical education teacher. Miller filled the role of athletics director at the school for one year and also spent time coaching the varsity basketball and softball teams and the junior varsity baseball and soccer teams.
Miller is an active member of the community in Fort Myers where he lives with his wife, Jean Parnell Miller ’50. He has worked with Habitat for Humanity for 12 years, volunteered in the community soup kitchen, coached Little League baseball and is a member of the Covenant Presbyterian Church. In 2001 he won the NY State Senior Golf Championship for the 70 and over age group. Miller is a lifetime member of the Syracuse University Varsity Club, contributing the Orange Pack and the Syracuse Annual Fund. He was an active member of the SU Alumni Club in Rochester for 25 years and has been active in the Fort Myers Club for the past six years, including serving in his current position as director. In addition, he established a memorial gift for his father, Francis J. Miller, a 1923 graduate of Syracuse, giving a gift in his name to the Student Athlete Fund.
