John E. Miles

John Edward Miles, August 15, 1940 – April 16, 2023

John E. Miles, age 82, passed away at his residence on Sunday, April 16, 2023, surrounded by his loving family.

John E. Miles, eldest son of the late Ernest and Olive Miles of Gloucester, England, was raised in Wales and England. He received his BA/MA Honors from Oxford University, PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his MBA from Eastern University, PA. He is survived by his wife of 56 years Sara (Wasson) Miles, daughter Julia (David) Robinson, son Stephen (Sarah) Miles, his grandchildren, John and Mark Robinson, Anna and Nathan Miles, and is fondly remembered by his brothers in the UK Philip (Gill) Miles and Andrew (Nikki) Miles as well as nieces and nephews both in the US and in England.

He served as a teacher/missionary to the Democratic Republic of Congo and participated in a wide variety of mission related organizations, most recently by doing translation work for MissionAssist UK and Presbyterian (USA) World Mission. He also raised funds for a variety of local and global mission projects by making jams and jellies available for donations. He was knighted by the French government into the Ordres des Palmes Académiques for his vast services to French and foreign language teaching. He was also awarded the Illinois Lieutenant Governor’s Award for his contribution to foreign language education due to his decades as a professor at Wheaton College and his leadership in state and national foreign language teachers’ organizations.