Gloria Jean Miles

05/27/1942 - 01/08/2023

Obituary For Gloria Jean Miles

Mrs. Gloria Jean Miles, 80, of Phenix City, AL passed Sunday, January 8, 2023 in Columbus, GA.

Funeral service will be held 1:00 p.m. EST, Saturday, January 14, 2023 at Nichols Chapel A.M.E Church, Phenix City, AL with Rev. Richard Carter, officiating. Burial to follow in Lakeview Memory Gardens, Phenix City, AL. Visitation is Friday, January 13, 2023 from 1-5 p.m. EST

On Sunday, January 8, 2023 at 11:36 p.m., the angels of the Lord were dispatched to Piedmont Hospital, Columbus, Georgia to offer Mrs. Gloria J. Phillips Miles a glimpse of heaven. Without word or worry, she peacefully departed this life to enter the portals of glory as her children sang hymns of praise and covered her in love and prayer.

Mrs. Miles was born May 27, 1942 in Russell County, Alabama to the late Willie Phillips and Ruby Mae Harper Sneed. A lifelong member of Nichols Chapel, she was reared in the AME faith and confessed Christ at an early age. She was married to the late, John Joseph "JJ" Miles on October 9, 1968. His untimely death rendered her a widowed at the young age of 30. With exceptional strength, unyielding faith and priestly wisdom that belied her years, she reared their three children to be God fearing, principled and positioned for success.

Her strong work ethic, pursuit of job advancements, lifelong learning, fulfilment of personal goals and fiscal independence are counted among her many examples of excellence and her lifelong family legacy.

Gloria Jean’s quiet voice and dignified demeanor did not detract from her emphatic life lessons, wise sage counsel and clear family directives. Selfless by nature and giving in character, she freely shared her time, treasure, talents and tasty treats in service to God and others, to visit the sick, aide the poor and comfort those in need.

These innate traits were recognized and lauded by her Nichols Chapel family in her appointment and long service as a Stewardess in the Lord’s church. Mrs. Miles earned the respect, admiration and affection of her family and community as a strong, noble Black woman who was a force for good and a stabilizing influence upon all with whom she had contact and relationship.

On the occasion of her 80th birthday, Mayor Eddie N. Lowe and Phenix City officials proclaimed it a day of honor for Mrs. Gloria Jean Miles as they joined family and friends who gathered from far and near to celebrate a virtuous woman and our family’s matriarch.

Joining the heavenly hosts to ease her transition and welcoming her to glory were her parents, Ruby Mae Sneed and Willie Phillips; brother, Alvin Phillips, Sr. and her gift to heaven her grandson, Anthony G. Miles, II. Left to honor her legacy and celebrate her life well lived are her three children, Cynthia E. Lewis (Lee Andrew) Phenix City, AL, Anthony G. Miles (Deborah), Singapore and Michele R. Menefee (Mark), Lee County, AL; three grandchildren, Dr. Dietrick Lewis, Newnan, GA, Mark Menefee (Denise), Fayetteville, NC and Milessa Menefee, Phenix City, AL; three great-grandchildren, Deyondius, D’Marques and Mehki of Fayetteville, NC; two sisters, Jacqueline Grant (Tony), Atlanta, GA and Janice Wilson (Dallas), Phenix City, AL; one brother, Harry Sneed, Jr. of Phenix City, AL; devoted niece, Lakeisha Sneed, Atlanta, GA; loving nephews, Marquis Crowell (Atlanta, GA), Alvin Phillips, Jr. of Columbus, GA, Keith Phillips, Travis Phillips, Adrian Phillips (Bridget), Terrell Sneed, all of Phenix City and Dericos (Terinda) Jackson, Pelham, GA; two aunts, Magdalene Phillips and Sallie Harper; a sister-in-law, Daphene Phillips, all of Phenix City, AL, and her “sister” cousin, Julia Dixon, Fort Mitchell, AL.

She too is loved and remembered by multi generations of extended family members, friends and loved ones.

Joining the heavenly hosts to ease her transition and welcoming her to glory were her parents, Ruby Mae Sneed and Willie Phillips, brother, Alvin Phillips, Sr. and her gift to heaven her grandson, Anthony G. Miles, II.