Peter Milch

Peter Milch, a 41-year resident of Houston, died July 3 at Methodist Hospital. He was 81.
Peter was born Dec. 16, 1939, in Brooklyn, N.Y., and he grew up in Queens. He graduated from Bryant High School at 16 and went to Miami University (Ohio), where he majored in business. He later earned his MBA from New York University. He also served in the U.S. Army and National Guard between 1962 and 1965.
He met his wife, Shiela Woda, in 1962 at a dance, and he proposed three months later. They married on Dec. 21, 1963.
His jobs in finance took them from New York to Birmingham, Ala., and back to New York. He moved his wife and three daughters to Houston in early 1980, and his career eventually evolved into education. He taught economics at Houston Community College, and special needs students at T.H. Rogers School. Some of the Rogers students asked him to accompany them to their high school graduation ceremonies.
He and Shiela became involved in the Jewish community shortly after their arrival to Houston. They were founding and active members of Congregation Shma Koleinu, where they regularly attended Friday night services.
Known to his grandchildren as Papa, Peter was a huge fan of Miami University, and he served as a recruiter in Houston. He liked attending athletic events and made a point of organizing his time around watching Miami Redhawks televised games of any sport. He was a fan of world travel, musical theater, opera, swimming, the beach, food, pistachio ice cream and good scotch. But he was best known as a raconteur, and he loved finding new audiences for his many stories.
Survivors include his wife, Shiela Milch; daughters Linda Leavell (Garry) of Plano, Jennifer Milch (Holly) of Austin and Helaine Milch-Schroder (Kevin) of Atlanta; and grandchildren Hayley Leavell, Cameron Leavell, Noa Milch, Carly Milch and Julian Schroder.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Harriet Milch of New York; and his twin brother, Roger Milch, of New York.
Peter bravely fought against Parkinson’s disease for the last 15 years of his life. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Houston Area Parkinson Society (
hapsonline.org
) or the Miami University Foundation (
givetomiamioh.org
).