The Ohio Independent Baptist, November 1967

the id·ea, hecat1se, as he con1- ent , ' It wot1ld he good for C'leve- d ,, n . Mr. Milner founded the Electrical eague of Cleveland, and for n1any ~ar has been pre ident of the Cleve– nd Home and Flower Show. He ·rved on the Village Council of [oreland Hill where he lived and !Can1e the fir t Pre ident of the local ;hool Board. All this, while he was directing and Jilding hi own bu ine s, the Milner lectric Company, electrical equip– ent and upplies di tributors in )rthern Ohio. Only within the pa t ~ar has he relinquished direct lead– ·ship of this bu sine in favor of 1c; son, Robert anc1 his nephew, tmes Milner. Christ First - Always! But not al I of his business Ii fe as smooth sailing. A Mr. Milner !ports it, "There was a time when 1e Lord had to show n1e that sound u~ines judgn1ent and 'making 1oney meant nothing if my plans xcluded the Lord's own p·urpose or my life." It happened when, dur- 1g the depression of the early '30's, 1any businesses and bu iness men xperienced reverses. At that time, MiJner's newly or– anized appliance wholes·aling bu i– ess found itself over-extended, with redit losses piling up and cash go– 'lg out but never coming back in. Vhat some business men ,blamed on ·bad times" or "bad luck," Mir. Jilner saw as a lesson the Lord was eaching him. "It was as if the Lord was trying o tell me," he narrates, "that H,e :ouldn't trust me with too much noney. He showed me this by letting ne go broke and letting my busin·ess 'ail." "Soon I understood fully that as a 1orn again Christian my life ... and ·:ny money ... belonged to Him. At hat point, things began to go well 1gain" Milner observes. Now Jiving at 2195 Rockway Rd. , University Heights, George Milner can look back on a long life of serv– ice for hi~ Lord. He sti ll attend edar Hill Baptist Church regularly, and you never c,1n tell when or where he might make an appearance. Just this pa<it sumn1er, after attencl– ing a Mid-Missions co11ference in '"roledo, he decided to drive up to l)etr()il to surprise his n1arried c.iaugh– ter, ,retche11 Hurst, and ee his ne\\'e. t great grandson, age three weeks. '/ ,/1e little /)CJ) lvill /ear,1 S<J111e <lll'V ~vl1r1t (l c,· R ,~A [ (frat1d/t1/ /1 e1 lie • J1r1.\·J ••. Mr. ' I hen1t1r ,e<.1<.les THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST ery • pec,a • ute r, It wa a cold January day in the year 1909 when J first n1et George hcrwin Milner and then began an intin1ate as ociation of nearl y ixty year with one whom I would have to etas ify withot1t rese rvation as "My Most Un forgettable Character." Details of the fir t few years of our relationship are quite vague in my own mind but I do recall his strength o n one hand and hi s gentleness on the other. T well re– member that he stood tall aimong men and wa a stickler for di cipline boith in himself and others. I know hi hand wa firn1 but lovi ng and I felt secure in his pre ence. Through the pa sing years T was privileged to share his home ancl hi table and in these he wa generous al– n1 ost to a fault. I have sat arou nd the family altar and I istened as hi s strong voice read the Word a nd led j n prayer ~ king God's bles ing on hi s family, his church, the cause of mi ions around the world and for those he knew by name w 1 hose prob·lems he knew and under tood. 1 have seen hi faith and tru t in hi Heavenly Father through tryi ng time and I h ave s 1 tood with him at the open graves of two ons, one hi s fir st born hi wife, his Godly mo,ther. si ter, brother, a dearly beloved grand– child and hi s on-in-law, but through the tears l never saw or heard him que tion the will of God. I have marveled at hi patience and watched in vain for sign of bitterness when n1en have reviled a nd abu ed hin1 as he stood many time alone on an unpopular decision which he knew was right and T have seen him refu e a compromise in either . piritual or secul ar matter regard– les of the co t. During the HGreat Depre ion" of the early thirtie T . aw a 1i fetin1e of work teeter on the brink of economic disa ter but T never aw hin1 beaten or discour·aged. I sat beside his ho ·pital bed when death eemed very clo e and Ii tened as he told n1e the thing he wanted me to know before he Jeft u if uch had been God' will and I left that room c·omforted by hi pirit. The unforgettable strength of hi character overpowered the weakne.. , of hi s body and filled th·e room. , . . . l thank God fior this remarkable man l1fe, h1s 1n- fluence and example which left an idelible jmpres ion on my own life. Few men have been o privileged. I make no apolooy for my pride in and love for "T'he Mo. t Un- 0 ,, MY forgettabJe Cr1 aracter I Have Ever Known, - WONDERFUL DAD! . . . Robert Sherlvi11 M il11er Opening of Cleveland's Home and Flower Show NOVEMBER, 1967 PAGE 5