Lehighton man installed as potentate of Shriners

The Rajah Shriners, Reading chapter, recently installed a new slate of officers in ceremonies held at the local headquarters in Blandon.

Marvin J. Miller of Lehighton was installed potentate of the 2,500-member organization for 2020.

Miller, a retired teacher from the Northern Lehigh School District, taught mathematics and world cultures for over 37 years.

After his retirement, Miller remained active in the education community through retiree groups and several sports organizations.

Miller was born on May 9, 1938, in Lehighton, the oldest of three children. He and his wife of 62 years, Marie, reside in East Penn Township.

They have three children, Gregory T. Miller, Cynthia M. Gingras and the late Michael J. Miller; as well as three grandchildren.

Miller is a member of Slatington Lodge 440 F.&A.M., Slatington; Royal Arch Lodge of Slatington and Lehigh Consistory, Valley of Allentown, A.A.S.R.

As a member of Rajah Shrine, Miller was a charter member and a past president of the Angler’s Club and was appointed to the progressive line of officers in 2014.

He is also a member of the Order of Quetzalcoatl, Apato Teocalli 63, Reading.

As a member of the Rajah Shrine board of directors, Miller also serves on several committees and is a representative to the International Imperial Shrine convention and the Middle Atlantic Shrine Association.

Miller’s other community activities include president and chief negotiator of Northern Lehigh Teachers Union; National Education Association; Pennsylvania State Education Association – State and Lehigh County Chapters, Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees – State and Lehigh County chapters.

Other elected board of director officers include Kraig W. Leiby, Blandon, chief rabban; Joseph J. Hagen, Sr., Birdsboro, assistant rabban; Duane A. Dellecker, Lehighton, high priest and prophet; and Donald G. Heimbecker, Allentown, Oriental guide.

Re-elected were Ronald F. Rapp, past potentate, Blandon, Treasurer, and Les A. Werley, Hamburg, recorder.

Appointed Divan officers installed were: Ronald L. Szapacs, Slatington, first ceremonial master; Carl G. Frey, Centerport, captain of the guard and Terrance L. Swingholm, Slatington, outer guard.

The installing officer was Ill. Sir Ronald F. Rapp, past potentate.

Rajah Shriners, headquartered in Blandon, is one of 200 Shrine Centers operating under the auspices of Shriners International, with main office in Tampa, Florida.

Rajah Shrine’s membership currently stands at just over 2,500 members from a 10-county jurisdiction including Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon, Lebanon, Lancaster, Lehigh, Northampton, Montgomery, Chester and Bucks.

As an affiliate of Shriner’s International, Rajah Shrine wholeheartedly supports the Shriner’s Hospitals for Children, a 22-hospital network of facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico that have treated children for nearly 100 years without cost to the family. Treatment includes care for orthopedics, burns, cleft lip and palate and spinal cord injuries.