Phillip Lowden Miller, 71, died on Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, after a year long struggle with a rare form of cancer.
Miller, born in Chicago on June 16, 1938, was the son of the late Florence Lowden Miller and the late Dr. C. Phillip Miller.
He was the great-grandson of George M. Pullman and the grandson of former Illinois Governor Frank O. Lowden.
During a career in banking, he worked in New York and Paris before returning to Chicago.
He also served for 31 years as president of the George M. Pullman Educational Foundation, which under his leadership awarded thousands of need-based college scholarships to students in Cook County.
In the early 1990s, Miller with his brother, Warren, sold 2,291 acres of forest land to the State of Illinois to create the Lowden-Miller State Forest in Ogle County, the largest contiguous forest in northern Illinois.
The forest is adjacent to the Boy Scouts of America's Camp Lowden, 250 acres of wooded property established in 1940 on the estate of Miller's grandfather, Governor Lowden.
He lived with his wife, Bonnie, for approximately 15 years in Oregon, where he enjoyed Republican politics and served as a precinct committeeman.
He also was active at St. Brides Episcopal Church and was a member of the Oregon Lions Club.
A devout Episcopalian, Miller was very involved in the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, serving on the Diocesan Foundation Board and on the Board of Episcopal Charities and Community Services.
He also served on the board of trustees of Graceland Cemetery in Chicago and several committees at the University Club of Chicago.
Miller received his undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and a master of science in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota.
He also studied business at the University of Chicago. Earlier, he attended the University of Chicago Laboratory School and the Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, N.J.
He is survived by his wife, Bonnie; daughters from his first marriage, Kimberley Lowden (Daniel) Freedman and Jennifer Pullman (Amir) Tadjedin; a brother, Warren Pullman (Marlene) Miller; and four grandchildren, Jack and Brooke Freedman, and Alexander and Emma Tadjedin.
Internment will be private.
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. at St. James Episcopal Cathedral, 65 E. Huron, Chicago, with a reception following at the University Club of Chicago.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to the George M. Pullman Educational Foundation, 39 S. LaSalle St., Ste. 718, Chicago, 60603.