Oscar Landon Miles III

A memorial service for Oscar Landon Miles, III, 94, of Monroe, LA, will be held at 1:00 PM, Thursday, April 2, 2015, at Grace Episcopal Church of Monroe with Reverend Richard Norman officiating. Interment will follow at Riverview Cemetery under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, Sterlington Road, Monroe. Mr. Miles passed away Thursday, March 19, 2015, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born in Monroe, LA, on April 5, 1920. He was a lifelong resident of Monroe except for the years spent on various projects for Ford, Bacon & Davis and four years spent in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was a life member of Grace Episcopal Church and served as an acolyte and then usher for many years.A 1936 graduate of Neville High School, Mr. Miles received a B.S. Degree from Louisiana Tech University in 1940. He worked for the Construction Quartermaster building Camp Claiborne in Alexandria, LA. He began his fifty-year career with Ford, Bacon & Davis in 1941 on a project based in Jackson, MS. While working on the first synthetic rubber plant in Charleston, West Virginia, he received his U.S. Navy Commission. He was granted a leave of absence from Ford, Bacon & Davis and he proceeded to Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, to receive his naval training. During WWII, he commanded an LCI for two years in New Guinea and was a division commander for landings at Hollandia and Biak. He returned to the United States in 1944 for new construction. While in the States he met Virginia Anita Vaughan and they were married in St. John’s Episcopal Church at Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. Lieutenant Miles and his bride went to Portland, Oregon, to commission his new ship, the LCS 99. The ship reported to Okinawa where they served primarily on Radar Picket stations. After the surrender, the ’99 escorted the army to Hiroshima. Mr. Miles retired a Lieutenant Commander and was awarded seven battle stars.Following WWII, Mr. Miles rejoined Ford, Bacon & Davis and over the years was assigned projects in Denver, CO, Tuscaloosa, AL, Trail, British Columbia, Canada, Alliance, OH, Glendale, WV, Meridian, MS, Baltimore, MD, and Joliet, IL. In 1961, he organized the Sealants Department and was promoted to vice president in 1967. Mr. Miles was Chairman, President, and CEO of Sealants, International, Inc., a director of Ford, Bacon & Davis, Ltd of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and a director of Ford, Bacon & Davis Construction Corp.Mr. Miles retired from Ford, Bacon & Davis in 1991 as Senior Vice President of Business Development. He then spent 3 years as a consultant for Mustang Engineers, Inc. of Houston, TX. In 1994, he set up and maintained an office in the Vantage Building until May of 2014.Club affiliations include the Lotus Club, Bayou DeSiard Country Club, New York Athletic Club, Society of Gas Operators, Guild of Ancient Suppliers, American Gas Association, New England Gas Association, Midwest Gas Association, and several Masonic bodies including Shrine, Knights Templars and Consistory. Mr. Miles was chairman of the Boy Scouts sustaining membership drive on two occasions and he worked with Junior Achievement and Little League baseball. He also served as chairman of the Advisory Board for the Monroe Regional Airport and was a director of the Chennault Aviation & Military Museum.Landon will be remembered for his love and devotion to his family. He was genuinely interested in people and loved to start a conversation with anyone he met. The highlight of his day was his lunch at the Lotus Club sitting at “the round table” with his friends.He was preceded in death by his parents, Gladys Skinner Miles and Oscar Landon Miles, Jr.; his brother, Leo William Miles; and his son, Michael Landon Miles.Survivors include his wife of 70 years, Virginia Vaughan Miles; daughter and son-in-law, Margaret Ann Miles McInnis and Michael McInnis of Monroe; daughter-in-law, Mary Dossett Miles Marx of Monroe; his granddaughter and her husband, Jenny Rebecca Barnes Stacey and George Stacey, Jr., of Gadsden, AL; his grandson and his wife, Landon Price Barnes and Christie Barnes of Nashville, TN; and five great-grandchildren, Mae Stacey, Barnes Stacey, and Margaret Miles Stacey of Gadsden, AL, and Felix Barnes and Quincy Barnes of Nashville, TN.Pallbearers will be Bill Miles, George Stacey, Mike McInnis, Jim Lockhart, Price Barnes, Steve Ash, Johnny Bryant, and Jerry Brown. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Round Table and staff at the Lotus Club of Monroe.Memorials may be made to Louisiana Tech Foundation, Grace Episcopal Church, or the charity of your choice. Visitation will be held from 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM, Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at Mulhearn Funeral Home, Sterlington Road, Monroe, LA. Visitation will also be held from 12:00 noon until 1:00 PM, Thursday, April 2, 2015, in Kilbourne Hall at Grace Episcopal Church prior to the service.Online Registry/Condolences: www.mulhearnfuneralhome.comMulhearn Funeral HomeSterlington RoadMonroe, LA