ORWIGSBURG — On a night to be recognized for a 51-year career in the legal profession, Judge Charles M. Miller’s thoughts were with his colleagues.
“I extend my profound appreciation to my judicial and non-judicial colleagues of the Schuylkill County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, with special thanks to my staff and the entire court and county administrations, both past and present,” he wrote in the program for a testimonial dinner in his honor Friday at the Schuylkill Country Club.
He signed it, simply, “Charlie.”
Judge Miller concluded 23 years on the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 last year. His term officially ended on December 31, 2024.
In a dining room crowded with judges, former law partners and members of the Schuylkill County Bar, Miller was lauded as an exceptional lawyer and jurist.
“Charlie did outstanding legal work and was a hard worker who did everything from A to Z – adoptions to zoning,” said Joseph P. Troy, a former law partner. “It was an honor to have been his colleague.”
In 1977, only three years after graduating from Duquesne Law School, Miller joined Troy, Wilbur H. Rubright and John E. Domalakes in establishing a new law firm in Frackville.
Three of the partners — Rubright, Domalakes and Miller — would become Schuylkill County judges.
In a memorable moment, Miller, Troy and Domalakes were together at the testimonial. Rubright died at age 83 in 2006.
Prior to the formal festivities, Miller took a few moments to reflect on his legal career.
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Judge Charles Miller recounts his career at his retirement dinner at the Schuylkill Country Club, Friday, June 6, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Judge Charles Miller recounts his career at his retirement dinner at the Schuylkill Country Club, Friday, June 6, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Judge Charles Miller recounts his career at his retirement dinner at the Schuylkill Country Club, Friday, June 6, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Born in 1949 to Francis J. and Rosalie Wynne Miller in Frackville, young Miller pumped gas at his father’s ESSO station when it sold for 29.9-cents a gallon.
The Millers had a tradition of public service. His father was president of the Frackville borough council, and two of his grandfather’s brothers were Chief Burgesses of the town.
The Millers lived near the office of Atty. John W. Walesky, later a judge, and young Miller would see him daily at Mass in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, where he was an altar boy.
“Something of Judge Walesky,” Miller recalled, “must have rubbed off on me.”
After graduating from Immaculate Conception Catholic High, Fountain Springs, Miller spent two years at Penn State Schuylkill Campus. He went on to graduate from Penn State’s main campus with a degree in economics in 1971.
He still serves as a board member emeritus of the Penn State Schuylkill Advisory Board, and expressed relief that the campus survived the recent cutback initiated at University Park.
State Rep. David G. Argall, R-29, Rush Twp., called attention to Miller’s service to Schuylkill campus during an award presentation.
Argall delivered a commendation from the state Senate, as did State Rep. Tim Twardzik, R-123, Butler Twp., from the House of Representatives. Schuylkill County Commissioner Barron L. “Boots” Hetherington delivered a proclamation from the county. Michelle A. Jones, Schuylkill County Bar Association president, also presented an award.
Atty. Paul G. Domalakes, a former law partner, gave the invocation at the testimonial. The event committee included attorneys Ruth Kimmel Snyder and Meryl M. Peterman, bar association executive director Charlotte M. Green and business manager Shelly Lurwick.
Elected in 2001, Miller was Schuylkill County’s sixth judge. He joined judges James J. Curran Sr., Guy A. Bowe, George W. Heffner, John E. Lavelle Sr. and Joseph F. McCloskey on the bench.
Miller is past president of the Frackville Rotary Club, and has volunteered with numerous organizations, including the Big Impact Group and Volunteers for Youth of Schuylkill County.
He is a past Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus Council No. 2580, and serves as a Eucharistic Minister at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Pottsville.
He and Patricia Quinn Miller, his spouse, have two children. Ryan Miller is a Navy commander and Megan Miller Zachary is a lawyer with a Philadelphia firm.