[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 125 (Tuesday, September 8, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE MEMORY OF JOHN C.H. ``JACK'' MILLER, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 8, 2009

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, the city of Mobile and indeed the entire 
state of Alabama recently lost a dear friend, and I rise today to honor 
him and pay tribute to his memory.
  Mr. John C.H. ``Jack'' Miller was a Duke University graduate who 
earned his law degree from the University of Alabama. In 1977, he 
established the Mobile based law firm Miller, Hamilton, Snider and 
Odom, which just recently merged with the New Orleans firm Jones 
Walker. Mr. Miller was also a founding director of Colonial Bank.
  In the political world, Mr. Miller played an active role in the 
Alabama Democratic Party. He served as chairman of the Alabama 
Democratic Party from 1998 until 2001. He also played an instrumental 
role in the successful gubernatorial campaigns of Fob James and Don 
Siegelman.
  Mr. Miller, along with former Mobile Mayor Mike Dow, led Mobile's 
Downtown Redevelopment Commission from 1990 until 2006. He coined the 
phrase ``String of Pearls,'' which was a series of projects that 
dramatically improved downtown Mobile. Mr. Miller and Mayor Dow's 
``String of Pearls'' campaign helped to revitalize downtown Mobile 
which is now home to a cruise ship terminal, the tallest building in 
Alabama, a number of new hotels and a waterfront park.
  Among other achievements, Mr. Miller served as an Auburn University 
trustee since 2000. He supported many Auburn academic programs and in 
June, the Auburn Board of Trustees named the university's recently 
established writing center in his honor.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering a 
dedicated community leader and friend to many throughout the state of 
Alabama. Mr. Jack Miller will be deeply missed by his family--his wife 
of 38 years, Susan Ross Miller; his mother, Emily Townsend of Mobile; 
his children, Emily Miller Washburn and her husband, James; John 
Cleveland Hays Miller III and his wife, Julia; and Edward Aubert 
Roberts Miller and his wife, Meredith; and his two grandsons, Jackson 
Roberts Washburn and Jesse Townsend Washburn--as well as the many 
friends he leaves behind.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with them all at this difficult time.

                          ____________________