Obituaries

William Edward Miller

Photo of William  Edward  Miller
Mr. William Miller, son of the late Freddie Lee Miller, Sr. (2003) and Aileen Brown Miller (1992), lost his battle with cancer on Thursday, January 3, 2019, in North Little Rock, Arkansas at the age of 62. William was born on January 3, 1957, in Rison, Arkansas. He graduated from Rison High School in 1975 as a star athlete and leader in the community. After being selected to play in the 1975 Arkansas High School All-Star Football game, William attended Ouachita Baptist University ("OBU") where he starred for the Tigers from 1975 to 1978. Although used primarily as a receiver in the early part of his career, William moved to tailback in the last two-years of his career at OBU and rushed for 3813 career yards, which landed him third on the all-time rushing list at Ouachita. William still holds career records at OBU for rushing touchdowns and scoring and the season-high record for rushing yards with 1,668 yards in 1978. In 1978, William was selected First Team All NAIA after leading the nation in rushing and scoring. William graduated from OBU in 1982 and was inducted into the OBU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. Following his career at OBU, William signed with the Atlanta Falcons and spent the next ten (10) years playing running back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League, the Pittsburgh Maulers and the Orlando Renegades of the United States Football League, and ended his career with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. William joined the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1980, rushing for 1053 yards. He was named to the league's All-Star team and was selected as the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie in 1980. He rushed for 684 yard in 1981 and 1076 yards in 1982, again being named to the league's All-Star team. Over his three seasons with Winnipeg, William scored 21 touchdowns. For the past twenty (20) years, William has been a vital part of Turner & Associates, P.A. in North Little Rock, Arkansas. William was preceded in death by his sister, Marva Jo Hill (2003) and his brother, Freddie Lee Miller, Jr. (2010), and is survived by his sisters, Freddie Mae Turner Johnson and her spouse Larry of Toledo, Ohio, Janie and Brenda J. Miller of Rison, and his brother, Brian V. Miller; his Aunts, Alicestine Barrett and Helen Walker, and a long list of nieces, nephews and cousins, all of whom reside in Rison, Ohio or Michigan. Funeral services will be held at Rison Baptist Church, 300 East Magnolia, in Rison, Arkansas, on Saturday, January 12, 2019, at 2 p.m. The celebration will be led by the Reverend Ezekiel Vaughn of Dallas, Texas. Interment will be in New Cemetery in Rison, AR by Brown Funeral Home of Pine Bluff, Ark. Visitation will be Friday, 4:30-6:30 p.m., at Brown Funeral Home. His body will lie in-state Saturday, 1:15 p.m., until service. www.brownfuneralhomeandmortuary.com.

Published January 11, 2019

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