Former PNP MP Carl Miller is dead, hailed as ‘a perfect gentleman’

WESTERN BUREAU:

Former People’s National Party (PNP) politician, attorney-at-law Carl Miller, who died on Tuesday night, was, yesterday, hailed as a “perfect gentleman” and man of good character by his family, friends, and other associates.

Miller, who was referred to as ‘Chief’ by PNP supporters in the west, served two terms as the member of parliament for St James North Western after making his name as a fearless advocate in the parish court.

“My relationship with Carl Miller goes way back – years ago – to the 1980s. My parents operated a restaurant in Montego Bay called Liberty, where Carl Miller and other attorneys-at-law practising in Montego Bay ... gathered for lunch, especially on a Wednesday. Mr Miller was well-known in the circles in Montego Bay as a very good defence criminal lawyer,” said Senator Janice Allen, who is the PNP’s candidate for Miller’s old seat.

Allen got to know Miller quite well, despite her young age at the time, as her late father, former PNP councillor Glover Allen, was a close friend of Miller’s. That friendship spilled over to her, getting stronger over the years.

“It was when the People’s National Party was rebuilding in the ‘80s, [that] Mr Miller became involved in the political scene, especially with my father, who was a former councillor by then but still very active in the political space in Montego Bay,” said Allen. “It was during that time that Mr Miller was attracted to the political representation space and entered into political office in 1989. I feel like I have known him all of my life.

“He was a good man and a good servant of the people, not just politically, but as a legal professional. He was also just well-loved, and Chief will certainly be missed by all in Montego Bay and in St James Central and St James North West,” added Allen.

LOVING BROTHER

Sandra Miller-Allen, the youngest of the Miller siblings, remembers her brother, who was well-known in Montego Bay for his exceptional skills as a criminal lawyer, as a devoted father of five, and a loving brother.

“He was the perfect gentleman. He loved his family and was very caring. I am just happy to know that he was my brother. He always remembered all of his siblings’ birthdays, and whenever he ended a conversation with us, he always said he loved us,” Miller-Allen told The Gleaner yesterday.

Fellow attorney-at-law Henry McCurdy, who twice contested Miller’s old seat unsuccessfully for the PNP, remembered first meeting Miller during his days as a police officer.

“I met Carl Miller when I was a young police officer assigned to St James, and he was very respectful. I had an encounter with him when he was a junior minister in the national security ministry and was living in MoBay,” recalled McCurdy. “He got a flat tyre one night, and they sent us to assist him. ... It took us two hours to find the tyre because we searched the entire car [which was a Subaru] except for the bonnet. He took it as a joke and said, ‘When you nuh used to pretty car, this is what happens’,” said McCurdy.

“I encountered him again when I went into politics in 2006, and he was like a mentor to me. When I became a lawyer, he was one of the first people to reach out to me and give me good encouragement, but there’s one thing about him, no matter what happened to you and him in the courtroom, he was never upset about anything,” noted McCurdy.

Over recent years, Miller, who was in his late 70s to early 80s, had not been in good health though he remained very vocal in discussing political and legal matters.

rochelle.clayton@gleanerjm.com