Arley James Miller, Cayman’s last surviving vestryman, has died.
Miller, who was honoured on National Heroes Day in 2020, passed away on Sunday, 8 May.
Premier Wayne Panton, in a statement on Miller’s passing, announced that all Cayman Islands flags at public buildings will be flown at half-mast on 13 May, and again on the day of his funeral, or on the Friday before should that day fall on a weekend.
“In what has been a week of profound sadness for the people of the Cayman Islands, we once again bid farewell to another political trailblazer, Mr. Arley James “A.J.” Miller, Cert. Hon., who passed away peacefully on Sunday, 8th May, at his home in Bodden Town,” the premier said in his statement.
Miller, Panton said, answered the call to public service in 1958 and was elected to represent the people of Bodden Town.
“It is impossible to recount the political history of the Cayman Islands without giving consideration and indeed credit to the contributions of Mr. A.J. Miller. On behalf of the Cabinet and Cayman Islands Government, I wish to extend heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and the community of his beloved District of Bodden Town,” he added.
Roy McTaggart, the Leader of the Opposition and political leader of the Progressives, in a statement Tuesday, lamented the passing of Miller who was celebrated among those who pioneered Cayman’s first written Constitution.
“With the passing of A.J. Miller, our Islands have lost yet another Caymanian icon who loved and served his country and his people. His name is written in our history books. So even with the passage of time, he will be remembered by future generations of Caymanians. We, the members of the Progressives, recognise and pay tribute to the legacy of Mr Miller and his contribution, alongside his political colleagues, to the modernising of Cayman’s politics and economy,” McTaggart said.
Miller had been the last surviving vestryman to serve in the Assembly of Justices and Vestry, Cayman’s original legislative body. The Assembly transitioned to the Legislative Assembly (now Parliament) on 13 July 1959.
“Miller was one of the 35 Justices and Vestrymen who oversaw the transition to a more politically and economically modern Cayman Islands. A transition that included our receiving our Coat of Arms and our first written constitution. As a politician and political campaigner, Mr Miller was very respected, and he served his beloved Bodden Town and Cayman Islands for many years,” McTaggart said in the statement.
Panton recounted that Miller was victorious in the pioneering election of 1959 under the new Constitution, but made the difficult decision to not take up his seat in the new Legislative Assembly.
“Instead he accepted a call to become a seaman, which offered him the ability to better support his young family. He eventually returned to Cayman and in the 1970s. Mr. Miller’s impact on the political landscape of the Cayman Islands became quite profound and well renowned throughout the community. He was widely recognised for his strategy, wealth of knowledge but perhaps he will be most remembered for adding colour and excitement to election campaigns. He was also an entrepreneur involved in several business ventures over the years,” he said.
The former vestryman had attended the formal ceremony in 2019 when the George Town Town Hall was renamed Constitution Hall.
House Speaker McKeeva Bush described Miller as a “pioneer in our political and business landscape” who made a meaningful contribution to the society.
“We acknowledge there is always a void when persons who serve and commit to the society are no longer with us. From all indications he was a nation builder in his own way. He was a good supporter of my political thought process and when I had to depend on him, he was there with me. AJ was not an ordinary politician. He had the senses that led him to duck many showdowns, but pick up the mantle to stand and fight when the need arose. He was a great defender when the need arose,” Bush said in a letter to the Compass on Miller’s death.
Bush extended condolences on behalf of the Parliament.
Funeral arrangements are yet to be announced.
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