Gerald Williams “Pops” Miles was born in Tupelo, MS on September 8, 1942, to Grady Webb and Gena Mae (Williams) Miles, and grew up in Fulton, MS, before joining the Air Force in April 1963. The Air Force took him from San Antonio, TX, Italy and Turkey, to where he was stationed on a Tactical Air Command Base in Myrtle Beach, SC. Gerald took great pride in serving his country during the early Vietnam War years maintaining F-100 fighter planes that he loved until his honorable discharge in December 1964.
Gerald taught himself to play guitar and then mandolin when he was 13 years old. He loved playing bluegrass music and taught himself to play lead guitar to cover many of the 60’s era rock and roll artists like the Ventures, Chuck Berry, and the Beatles. He saved his Air Force salary and purchased a 1963 Fender Stratocaster that he cherished. He was the only enlisted airmen in the Air Force to enter the Officers’ Clubs because he was the best lead guitar player on every base. Special permissions were granted for him to play with the officers’ rock and roll band during his time in the Air Force. He left the service, got married to Geneva Estes, and continued his education graduating from Harding University (Searcy, AR) with a bachelor’s degree in 1967, then earning a master’s degree in Ancient Greek from Abilene Christian University in 1969. He went on to have 2 sons, Glen (1969 Abilene, TX) and Grant (1971 Amory, MS), and preached the Gospel at many different Churches of Christ in the Southeast – Gulf Coast of AL (Bayou La Batre) and Pensacola, Florida.
He taught his sons how to play guitar, banjo and to sing harmony when they were in grade school. “I always wanted a bluegrass band of musicians, so I just raised me two!, “ he always said. Gerald and Geneva (Glen and Grant’s mom) separated in 1984. After teaching himself oil painting by watching Bill Alexander and Bob Ross on TV, he earned a certification from Bill Alexander’s art school in Salem, OR in 1987, and moved to Nashville, TN in 1991 to be with his boys who had moved to Nashville to play music professionally in 1987. He taught that painting technique to many in the local Nashville area. Then he established the Scottish House of Royalty where he made wool kilts/bonnets, leather belts/sporrans/dirk and skene-dubh scabbards, to outfit those wishing to adorn traditional Scottish wear. He traveled with his much-loved little feist dog Beauregard “Beau” and sold his goods at various Rendezvous reenactments from the Midwest, Southeast to Florida. When he wasn’t attending the reenactments, he was a professional Santa Claus and delighted many children in shopping malls in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast from late November to December 25th each year. Pops, as he became known, also founded Blue Celtic Grass with his boys where he sang, played mandolin and performed professionally doing traditional bluegrass and Celtic songs. Pops and the boys recorded 5 CDs of music at Round One Studios in Joelton, TN, and adorned in their kilts would perform at various gigs, including Rendezvous and Renaissance Fair reenactments. Pops never “retired” and continued painting, attending reenactments, acting as Santa Claus, and played mandolin performing with Blue Celtic Grass until he had a stroke on August 16, 2006.
The stroke paralyzed his left side, took away his ability to play the Gibson F5 mandolin he loved, and left him wheelchair infirmed in his home in Gallatin, TN. However, Pops recovered enough to adopt a shelter dog, his much-loved rat terrier, Polly, after losing his little feist dog Beau, and continued with his painting and rode his power chair using only his right hand, and he taught the wet-on-wet oil painting method to many at the local senior center and public library in Gallatin, TN. Pops attended Nashville Road Church of Christ in Gallatin, TN, until he became more immobile and had to move to The Waters of Gallatin nursing home for round-the-clock care in 2020.
He was hospitalized in Nashville, TN, recently in April for septic shock and with his kidneys failing. Pops remained in hospital for 3 weeks on dialysis and comfort care until he passed away peacefully with his boys playing bluegrass for him in his room until the end on Sunday, May 14, 2023, at 8:40pm.
Services will be held at McNeece Morris Funeral Home in Fulton, MS, on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at 11am, and will be performed by Tom House (minister Plainview Church of Christ) and Blue Celtic Grass. Burial will be in Itawamba Memorial Gardens.
Gerald “Pops” is survived by: his 2 Sons, Glen Wesley (Carolyn) of Gallatin, TN, and Grant Wayne (Cristi) of LaVergne, TN; his 2 Granddaughters Ayla Rose (Grant), and Vivienne Grace (Glen) Miles; his Sister Gwendolyn Ruth (Milton) Barlow and 2 nephews Ryan Anthony and Rolan Andrew Barlow all of Fulton, MS; his Uncle William (Barbara) Miles of Fulton, MS; and a host of 1st , 2nd , 3rd , and 4th cousins of the Webb, Williams and Miles families from the local Fulton, MS area; many friends and fellow Rendezvous-ers in Nashville/Gallatin/Middle TN, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska; and the boys Pops called his other sons, David Knight (30-year bass player-BCG) of Smyrna, TN; Thornton “Mac” Pryor of Madison, AL/Nashville, TN
Gerald was preceded in death by his parents: Grady Webb (July 2006) and Gena Mae (Williams) Miles (July 2015) and his former wife Geneva Estes Melko (November 2014).
Visitation for family and friends will be held on Tuesday, May 23, from 9:00 a.m. until service time at McNeece-Morris Funeral Home in Fulton.
