In Remembrance: William Whaley Miner ’52 Died on April 6 2017

William Whaley Miner was born in New London, Connecticut, on April 16, 1930, the son of William Page Miner and Augusta Whaley Miner. After attending Harbor School in 1944, he followed his father's footsteps and attended Phillips Andover Academy and then Yale University from where he graduated in 1952. After college he served two years in the Army, as a lieutenant in the field artillery, mostly stationed in Germany. Following the armed services he attended law school at the University of Virginia and graduated in 1957.

After graduation, Bill clerked for the summer for the Wall Street firm of Sherman & Sterling in New York City, and then went on to become an associate in 1957. It was an experience he held in high regard and spoke of often. In the fall of 1958 he accepted an offer from J. Rodney Smith to join the New London firm of Waller, Smith and Palmer as the fourth lawyer in the firm. Bill remained at the firm until retiring as a partner in 2003, and then as Of Counsel until 2017.

Bill served the New London and surrounding communities in countless ways. In 1960 he was elected to the New London City Council and served for four years. He served 16 years as a trustee of the New London Public Library, and as its president for nine years, during which the major new addition was designed and constructed. In 1964 he served as chairman of New London's Operation Sail Committee which hosted seven square-rigged sailing vessels during a week in New London Harbor.

On June 4, 1966, Bill married his true love, Judith Bradley Jordan of Watertown, New York. They met in New York City while both working there, and resided in New London for 30 years, living in Neptune Park where they raised their children, Augusta and Jordan. The family sailed together and took many cruises on the Endeavor, a wooden boat which they built with two shipwrights in their garage. The family also cherished many wonderful trips abroad and exploring different parts of the world, a pastime Bill continued to share with his wife up until a few months ago.

In 1970 Bill was elected to the Board of Managers of Lawrence and Memorial Hospital and served as a member of the board and as secretary for 17 years. Additionally, he was elected as a trustee of Connecticut College in 1978 and served until 1988 when he became trustee emeritus. In 1986 Bill was elected a trustee of Mystic Seaport Museum and served until 2002, and was then made trustee emeritus and thereafter continued to play an active role in the affairs of the museum.

In 1976 he was founder of the New London Development Corporation and served as its president for 12 years. He also led the Board of Trustees for the Williams School, from which both his children graduated, and was president for 12 years. Bill was a long-serving trustee of Pequot Chapel, the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, and a member of the Thames Club, the Ariston Club, the New London Rotary Club, and Calvary Church of Stonington. From 1971 to 1993 he served as a director of the Savings Bank of New London and its successor, New England Savings Bank, and was chairman of its Board of Directors during the last seven months of its existence.

In 1988 Bill was honored with the Chamber of Commerce of Southeastern Connecticut's William Crawford Award for Community Service.

While Bill contributed tremendously to the community, his true loves were his wife of 51 years, his children, his four grandchildren, and traveling the world with his family and friends, as well as sailing on the sea.

—Submitted by the family.