Adrian John (AJ) Miller

Adrian John (AJ) Miller, owner of Fountain Hills Locksmith, passed away peacefully in his home on April 11, 2016.

AJ was born in Pennsylvania and resided for many years in Bowie, Maryland, before he relocated to Arizona in 1980. He was preceded in death by his wife, Antoinette (Toni) Miller. He is survived by his son, Paul Miller (Darlene); his daughters, Claire Haughey (Bill) and Debby Miller; grandson Damen Haughey; granddaughters, Cheryl Miller and Lisa Parker; and two great granddaughters, Megan and Michelle Parker.

AJ was known as the guy “who could take anything apart and fix it.” A news article was written about him and his appliance business, giving us a back story of his early career:

“I can remember back when I was 12 or 13 years old working on radios and televisions,” recalls Adrian J Miller, owner of Miller’s Appliance Service in Hilltop Plaza Shopping Center.

Miller, whose store has been open since last April, now finds plenty of outlets for his skill in tinkering with broken appliances. Belair residents keep him hopping with their broken dish washers, dryers, electric ranges and ovens. His 18-year-old son,Paul, mans the store fixing smaller appliances while Miller goes out making the rounds of service calls in area homes.

Before the store was built, Miller worked out of his home for a year repairing appliances. Prior to that, he was a general building contractor and several of the additions to Belair homes were completed by Miller. He also had a hand in the construction of two doctor’s offices, the 7 and 9 Shoppe, and Flagge Brothers at Prince Georges Plaza.

The home on Forest Drive where he has resided for the past thirteen years with his wife, Toni, son Paul, and two daughters, Claire and Debby, was also the product of his handiwork. He got plenty of experience in building when, for eight years, he traveled “through every state everywhere east of the Mississippi and from Miami to Caribou Maine, working as superintendent with a New York based construction company.

When moving from place to place got be too much for a growing family, Miller, who has lived in the area since childhood, settled down on Forest Drive, where he has been ever since.

“I’m really not crazy about this area”, Miller remarks, “because of the high humidity; it’s bad for the health. If I had a chance, I’d like to live in the Southwest, out in Arizona where I own some property or down around El Paso, Texas. But as long as business is good I imagine this is where I’ll stay,” he says, speaking with a businessman’s practicality on such matters.

Like his father before him, Miller started out in bricklaying shortly after graduation from high school but, unlike his father, he didn’t make it his life’s work. After a three-year apprenticeship and a 15-year stint as a journeyman, he later attended Columbia Technical Institute in Washington, D.C, where he learned estimating, blueprint reading and construction.

Now he says “I like appliance work much better than construction. It’s not as hard physically and it’s year round not seasonal.”

As might be expected from one who likes working with his hands, Miller is a “Class A Auto Mechanic” by his own admission, and has been repairing cars ever since he set up his own “alley garage” during his teen years.

He speaks with obvious pride in his young son, Paul, 18, who appears to have chosen to follow in his father’s footsteps and has inherited his talent for fixing everything from tape recorders and televisions to souped-up Chevy’s and Pontiacs.

For as long as he can remember, Miller says “Anything I can take apart I’ve been able to fix.”

AJ also had honorable mention in the 2000-2001 Edition of “Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals” as a general contractor from 1958-1967 in Maryland. Owner and President of Miller Appliance, Inc. from 1969-1982 and was Past President of the Free State, Merchants Association, from 1975-1980 and serviced as President of the Washington Metropolitan Appliance Association from 1975-1980. Proudly served as a volunteer Posse Member with the Fountain Hills Sheriff’s Department from 1980-1989. Education: CTI Washington, DC and Easter High.

AJ was a man of great integrity and character. He was honest and took pride in his “old school” work ethic. We have lost a dear friend and a loving father and grandfather who will forever remain in our hearts and memory.

Services are pending.