Frances Lugene Miles' Obituary
Frances Lugene Winfield Miles was born on September 11, 1933, in Fort Worth, Texas.
She was the fourth of five children born to Daniel and Jessie Winfield. God, church and
impeccable character played important roles throughout her life.
During her youth, Frances was very inspirational and was looked to as a role model by
many. She started teaching Sunday School at the age of twelve. She won prizes and honorable
mention for her essays, short stories, and poems. She was a leader and an honor student.
When she graduated from high school, she was voted “most versatile” by her classmates and
selected by the school’s faculty as the recipient of the Good Citizenship Award.
After graduating high school, Frances attended Prairie View A&M University in Texas. As a
freshman, she was named Editor of the college’s creative writing magazine and she received an
award for the Most Outstanding Freshman in English. During her time at Prairie View A&M, she
also placed first in an English Department poetry contest, and she was a reporter for the main
campus newspaper.
While in college, Frances was selected as a debutante in her hometown of Fort Worth.
Debutantes were selected by the Fort Worth Assembly based on character, education,
leadership, and other qualities. She met her future husband, Elijah Walter Miles, who Frances
would eventually refer to as “E.W.,” while attending Prairie View A&M University. She
graduated from Prairie View A&M University in 1955 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English.
Frances earned a permanent Texas teacher’s certificate and began teaching in Fort
Worth shortly after graduating from college. She taught in Texas for a few years and then
married E.W. on June 4, 1958. Frances and E.W. moved to Indiana so E.W. could attend
graduate school at Indiana University. Frances gave birth to her first child while living in
Indiana. After E.W. obtained his doctorate degree, the family moved back to Texas, then to
North Carolina, and finally settled in San Diego in 1966. Shortly after arriving in San Diego,
Frances gave birth to her second child.
Both Frances and E.W. enjoyed long and distinguished teaching careers in San Diego.
Frances taught in San Diego public schools while E.W. was a professor at San Diego State
University. During Frances’s more than twenty-five years of service as a teacher in San Diego,
she was among California’s first mentor teachers, she was a certified GATE (Gifted and Talented
Education) teacher, and she developed the innovative and award winning student success
program SEEDS (Self Empowerment, Esteem, Determination, Success).
Frances’s career in the San Diego Unified School District began in l967. Her first
assignment was at O’Farrell Junior High School where she taught until she was recruited to
teach at the new Bell Junior High School. She was chosen to be the English Department Chair
during her second year at Bell, a position she held for six consecutive years. Under her
leadership, Bell had one of the best English departments in the district. She also wrote many
inspirational and character building skits that were performed by her students for the benefit of
the entire student body while she taught at Bell.
Determined to increase her impact on the education of our youth, Frances enrolled in
graduate school at San Diego State University. She concentrated her studies in the field of
Educational Administration and, in 1984, she earned a Master’s of Arts in Education. After
obtaining her Master’s Degree, she taught at Serra High School and Gompers Secondary School.
At Gompers, she was the Resource Coordinator for various programs including the Academic
Achievement Program, the After School Tutoring Program, the Motivation and Maintenance
Program, and SEEDS. She was the faculty advisor for the school newspaper and she worked
tirelessly serving underprivileged students through the Chapter 1 program.
Frances’s other contributions to the educational community included serving on the
Editorial Board of the school district’s Quest Magazine, providing consultation for a literature
textbook published by McDougal, Littell & Co., participating on the advisory committee for
district curriculum, serving as a district curriculum writer, and being a member of the San Diego
Teachers’ Association. She also wrote a three-act musical, “Two Against the World,” which was
performed at the Educational Cultural Complex in San Diego.
During her many years as an educator, she always sought to build character in her
students, a trait that was profoundly important in her own personal life. She sought to inspire
her students, to encourage them to stretch their minds to the outer limits of their potential and
to strive for academic excellence. She believed as the poet, Robert Browning, did that “man’s
reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?”
In her free time, Frances enjoyed reading, writing, and the performing arts. She is the
author of Yesterday, When I Was Young, which is a published book of poems. She was actively
involved in a book club for about twenty years that consisted of educators and other
professional women. She was a member of Calvary Baptist Church under the leadership of its
former pastor, S.M. Lockridge, and Bayview Baptist Church. She was also a member of Jack and
Jill of America, a national Black family-oriented organization.
Frances was also a devoted wife and mother. She was always available to offer
guidance, encouragement, inspiration, and support to her family. Her surviving family
members have fond memories of their time with Frances. She will be greatly missed by her
family and friends.
Frances Miles is survived by her sons and their wives, Christopher and Donna Miles, and
Tony and Maisha Miles; a grandson, Brayden Miles; sister, Kathleen Lauderdale; sisters-in-law,
Ella Lindsey and Ann Miles; brother-in-law, Edgar Miles; and many nieces, nephews and other
relatives.
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