Los Angeles County
Biographies
ROY
E. MILLER AND RHEA M. MILLER
Mr.
and Mrs. Miller are both natives of southern California who moved to Alhambra
in 1925. Roy E. Miller was born in
Garden Grove, California, on December 18, 1900, the son of Joseph E. Miller, a
rancher, and Margaret E. Miller, who came to California in 1877 from Ontario,
Canada, and settled in Garden Grove. A
sister, Ethel (Miller) Evans, retired from the Garden Grove school system,
having served it for forty years. Ethel
M. Evans School in the system was named for her.
Mr.
Miller attended grade school in his home town, graduated in 1919 from Santa Ana
High School, attended Junior College, and graduated from the California
Institute of Technology in 1924 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical
engineering.
Mrs.
Miller was born in Pasadena on October 5, 1902, the daughter of Herman H. Griefe of Missouri, who came to Pasadena in 1890 and owned
and operated a general store there. Her
mother, Emma L. Greife, was born in Ohio and came to
Pasadena in 1888. Mrs. Miller is a
graduate of John Muir Intermediate School and Pasadena High School. She graduated from Sawyer’s Business College
in Pasadena in 1922, and worked in a wholesale jewelry house in Los Angeles for
four years.
Roy
E. Miller was married to the former Miss Rhea Greife
in the Hollister Avenue Methodist Church in Pasadena on October 12, 1925.
Mr.
Miller is staff engineer in the commercial engineering department of the
Pacific Telephone Company. He started in
1924 as statistical draftsman in the plant department. He is a member of the Telephone Pioneers of
America, made up of telephone employees with twenty-one or more years of
service. Mrs. Miller has been the
manager of the Alhambra High School Parent-Teachers’ Thrift Shop since 1958.
As
a member of the Advisory Council of the Alhambra Chapter of the Order of De
Molay, Mr. Miller received the Grand Chapter’s Cross of Honor in 1943 and
received the Honorary Legion of Honor award in 1949 for outstanding service to
the Alhambra Chamber and the Order of De Molay.
He has served continuously on its advisory council since 1928. He is a member of the Granada Masonic Lodge, San
Gabriel Valley Royal Arch Masons, Alhambra Commandery Knights Templar, Alhambra
Hi-Twelve and the Telephone Masonic Club.
He served as High Priest of San Gabriel Valley Royal Arch Chapter in
1935 and as Commander of Alhambra Commandery in 1938. He was president of the Granada Masonic
Temple Association in 1956.
Mrs.
Miller assisted in the founding of the USO (United Service Organization) in
Alhambra in 1942, worked with chaplains in the area, was responsible for the
distribution of gift boxes to servicemen, and arranged much entertainment for
servicemen in hospitals in the Southland.
She
is a member of the Alhambra Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Alhambra
Coordinating Council, and has been a member of the Granada Chapter of the Order
of Eastern Star for thirty-three years.
Active in Parent-Teacher Association work for twelve years, Mrs. Miller
served as president of the Alhambra High School Parent-Teachers’ Association in
1957-1958, and holds an honorary life membership in the organization. She originated the all
night graduation party plan at Alhambra High School.
The
Miller’s daughter, Elizabeth Gail, born on November 6, 1940, is an Alhambra
High School graduate, attended Whittier College, and received a diploma from
the Sherwood School of Music in Chicago, Illinois, majoring in piano. She has appeared on television and radio as a
concert pianist. She is a majority
member of the International Order of Job’s Daughters, Bethel Number 210, Alhambra, California.
Both
Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the First Methodist Church in Alhambra and
are very active in church work.
Mr.
Miller’s hobbies are photography and golf.
He is a member of the Telephone Camera Club.
Transcribed
by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Historical Volume &
Reference Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel &
Temple City, by Robert P. Studer, Pages 408-409,
Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California.
1962.
© 2012 V.
Gerald Iaquinta.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES
BIOGRAPHIES