Col. Lawrence H. Miller

ERROL, NH -- The Honorable, Colonel Lawrence Harris Miller, 86, a native of Cambridge, MA, passed away peacefully with his wife and “nursing angels” at the St. Vincent de Paul’s Nursing Home in Berlin, NH, on October 14, 2010. He is survived by his third wife, Sharon Hartwell Miller, two step-daughters and three step granddaughters. His parents were the late William J. and Lillian (Brown) Miller of Cambridge, MA. He has one brother, Alfred Saul Miller of MA. Col. Miller began his military service in 1946 right after high school. He was graduated from the Army Air Force Radio School, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and served as a member of flight crews with the 315th Bomb Wing, flying on B-29s and B 17s. He saw the end of WWII on Guam as a member of the 20th Air Force. He left the service as a Staff Sergeant and entered the Air Force Reserve. He attended Syracuse University and graduated from Boston University Law School. In 1952 he was graduated from the Staff Judge Advocate School, Maxwell, A.F.B., Alabama, and served as Staff Judge Advocate, 89th Fighter-Bomber Wing (Res.) and the 94th Military Airlift Wing (Res.) L.G. at Hanscom Field, Bedford, Massachusetts. In 1962 he was recalled to active duty during the Cuban missile crisis. He practiced law in Cambridge, MA and Boston for many years, was a lobbyist for gun manufacturers and groups interested in banking, public safety, and conservation legislation. He was coach and captain of the Hanscom AF Base, 94th Bomb Troop Carrier Wing pistol team, and he tried out for the Olympic Shooting Team. In the early 1970s he left private law practice to accept full-time service as the first Special Assistant to the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force for reserve affairs and was stationed in Washington, DC at the Pentagon during the Vietnam era. While in Washington he met his wife Sharon and his step-daughter, Nina Kempf-Miller. Soon after their marriage, Sharon accepted the position as Area Director of UCVMH&DS in Colebrook, NH, he retired as a full Colonel, and the family moved to Errol, NH. He did not stay retired long. He was appointed as Jurist for the Colebrook District Court, which he served for 9 years until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. He was then appointed chairman of the NH State Employees Appeal Board, which he held for 1 ½ years. To continue his public service, he joined the Colebrook Kiwanis Club. He was a member of a musical group, “Carolyn and Friends,” playing guitar and singing. They performed at nursing homes, senior centers, Kiwanis functions and wherever the group was asked to play for many years. He was a patron member of the National Rifle Association. Larry loved his home in Errol, hunting, and fishing with his wife, friends and his dogs. He carved wooden decoys of the birds they hunted. He was a wonderful raconteur. His long struggle is done, may he rest in peace. Friends may gather at the Miller home in Errol on Saturday, October 16, 2010, from 1-3 pm. Larry will be interred with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, January 24, 2011, at 11 a.m. Condolences may be offered to the family on-line by going to www.jenkinsnewman.com.

Col. Lawrence H. Miller

March 20, 1924 - October 14, 2010