Keith Miller

MILLER, Keith - of Lantz. Passed away at home surrounded by his family on November 28th, 2011, after a brief battle with cancer. Born in Lantz Siding, Halifax County, on Aug. 11, 1926, he was the son of Jacqueline (Woodworth) and Austin Miller.

Keith and his father worked in the Lantz general store known as H. D. Miller & Co. Ltd. that served the community since the late 1930s. They eventually bought and continued to run it until 1977. Keith completed basic training in the Canadian Army, but World War II ended just as he was about to be sent overseas.

Keith’s decades of volunteer work began in 1946 as a Boy Scout leader. In 2001, he was given an award for Exceptional Volunteer Service by N.S. Premier John Hamm. In 2009, he was recognized as one of thirteen Local Hockey Leaders from thousands of nominations across Canada, an initiative of RBC Insurance, Hockey Canada and the Hockey Hall of Fame. Criteria included hard work, dependability, enthusiasm and leadership - Keith excelled in all four. The recognition included being featured in a year-long display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, and participation in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics torch run with a team that included 20 relatives, friends and local athletes. His Olympic torch will be on permanent display in the East Hants Sportsplex.

Keith was involved in recreational sports all his life. A talented athlete, he played hockey for the Shubenacadie Lions in the Truro District Hockey League, a premier senior hockey league of the day. He also played softball and fastball in the Tri-County league. He was instrumental in organizing minor softball and hockey in the East Hants area, enabling rural youth to enjoy organized team sports. He spent years coaching youth in the Lantz community, producing a softball team that won the Juvenile provincial title in 1964. In addition to coaching and playing, he mowed the grass and prepared the ball field for games. He was supervisor of the L. E. Shaw Memorial swimming pool. Keith also enjoyed golf and played until the end of the 2011 season.

Keith was on the East Hants Memorial Arena board for 52 years and served as rink manager for 35 years, 25 of them as a volunteer. He groomed the ice and sharpened skates while his wife, Roxie, ran the canteen. He ran the monthly Thousand Dollar Draw for many years, which paid for the ice plant that replaced the weather-dependent natural ice surface.

Keith helped to get the new East Hants Sportsplex built and worked there in its first year of operation. He served on its board of directors until his death. Until his last weeks, he ran the East Hants Sportsplex TV bingo games to raise money for the Sportsplex, East Hants Minor Hockey and the Riverside Education Centre in Milford. His tireless dedication to the Sportsplex and its current expansion was honoured with one of the ice surfaces being named the Keith Miller Arena.

He was a founder and president of the Lantz Recreation Society; was a member of East Hants Municipal Recreation for fifteen years, and East Hants Senior Games; and was the original representative for the Fundy Region with the Nova Scotia Softball Association, which awarded him a life membership. Keith also served many years with, and was awarded a life membership to, the Arena Managers Association of Nova Scotia, now called Recreation Facility Association of Nova Scotia.

A warden of Christ Church in Lantz, Keith also was a member of the choir, lay reader, and caretaker of Christ Church Cemetery and rectory grounds. He was a founding member of the Lantz Volunteer Fire Department and its president until his illness.

Keith enjoyed fly-fishing for salmon on the St. Mary’s, Shubenacadie, Stewiacke and Wallace Rivers. He spent vacations at his cottage at Gulf Shore on the Northumberland Strait, and had been a member of the Northumberland Links golf club for many years.

Keith was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and uncle. He was predeceased by his wife, Roxie (Isenor) in 1989; sister, Joyce (Guimond) in 2009; adoptive son, Gary “Buck” MacPhee in 1982; and several brothers- and sisters-in-law. He is survived by his sister, Faye Porrior (Eric), Lantz; sons, Craig (Janet), Halifax, and Jeff (Carmelle), Chester Basin; daughter, Cindy (Judy), Lantz; daughter-in-law, Charlene MacPhee, Lantz; former son-in-law, Doug O'Brien, Enfield; grandchildren Hannah (Jeff); Aynsley (Logan); Paige; Brad (Jaclyn); Brock (Amanda); Kyle (Oriana); Angela; Stephen (Tam); Ginette (Jason); Jamieson (Kristi); Krista (Jason); Joey (Mary); and 18 step- and great-grandchildren.

Visitation will take place at Christ Church on Church Street, Lantz, on December 1st, 2011 from 6:00-9:00 pm. Please note that the Church is NOT wheelchair accessible. A celebration of his life will take place at11:00 a.m. on Friday December 2nd, 2011, at Christ Church, Lantz, Rev. Canon David Fletcher and Rev. Patty McKenna officiating. A spring burial will take place at the Christ Church cemetery.

The family thanks the Palliative Care Unit of Colchester Regional Hospital, especially Dawn Martell, of whom Keith grew very fond, and the many VON nurses who cared for him with compassion and dignity in his last days.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Christ Church Lantz Cemetery Fund.