William J. Miley
- May 23, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: May 24, 2022
1937 - 2022
William J. Miley, beloved husband, father, and brother, passed away on May 22 after a courageous battle with radiation cystitis. He was born in Queens, New York on September 10, 1937 to Agnes and William Miley. He was the oldest of three brothers, Greg, Francis and Jerome and one sister, Helena. A hard-working student, he was at the top of his classes at Holy Child Jesus and Bishop McLaughlin schools. After watching a WWII movie, William and his friend enlisted in the Navy in November 1956. He served for 4 years as an electronics technician on the Myles C. Fox destroyer, doing tours in the Mediterranean (during the Lebanon Crisis in 1958) and the Pacific. Though he hesitated going back to civilian life, he pursued a career as an electrical engineer. Working days and studying nights at Polytechnic University of New York, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Around that time, he met his wife, Margret Hoznar, at work. They got married three months later and William adopted Chris and raised him as his own child. Several years later, they had a daughter, Monica. William held several jobs in the aerospace defense industry working on test systems for radar equipment on planes. He retired at age 62 and pursued his passions of travel, learning languages, reading and walking up and down every street in Manhattan.
VISITATION
Thursday, May 26
2:00 - 4:30 PM & 7:00 - 9:30 PM
New Hyde Park Funeral Home
506 Lakeville Road, New Hyde Park, NY
FUNERAL MASS
Friday, May 27
9:30 AM
Notre Dame R.C. Church
45 Mayfair Road, New Hyde Park, NY
Private Cremation
I have such fond memories of my Uncle Willie, he was my dad's older brother. He was a kind, pensive gentleman. We all spent the holidays together when we were young. Monica, myself, Chris & Greg waiting for Santa Claus to arrive and Uncle Willie and my dad, trying to explain why Santa had Uncle Jerome's shoes on. Such a wonderful man that will be dearly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Monica, Aunt Margaret, & Chris.
Ali
Although I had only a few visits with Mr. Miley, I enjoyed his company and felt as though he was an extension of my own father in some ways. I agree with the sentiments expressed by Monica below that he was a listener, and rather Zen about it. One got the impression that he was digesting what you were saying with those wise eyes, and might let a pearl drop in reply, perhaps days later. Thank you for being a nice man, a great Dad, and being such a patient soul.
Dearest Monica,
we are so very saddened to hear that you have lost your father.
MEMORIES, which have touched our hearts, NEVER get lost!
May god bless you, your Mom and all the family in your time of sadness.
I hadn't seen Mr. Miley in many years but as the father to one of my High School best friends, I have many fond memories of him. He braved the traffic of the Tri-State area to take me and Monica to a concert at Giants Stadium. I'm not sure if he went home between dropping us off and picking us up or passed the time nearby but wow, I remember really appreciating it! To me, he was always so calm and had such a measured cadence to his speech. Having a conversation with him was always very pleasant. Monica and I have been trying to plan a trip back to NY together and if it weren't for Covid, perhaps we…
On the day my Father passed away, I spoke to him in the morning. Most of our conversations in the past few months have been about medical issues, logistics, finances, taxes, the house. But during that phone call, we had some time to talk about other things. My father shared with me his memories of a trip he took to South Dakota. It's a place my husband Marty and I would like to visit. My father admitted the trepidation he felt before the trip, assuming it would be flat and boring. But to his surprise, it amazed him in so many ways, from Devil's Tower on the edge of Wyoming, to the majesty of Mount Rushmore, to the barren beauty…