Alfred E. Milligan

Alfred Edward Milligan passed away on October 21, 2005 at his daughter’s home in Rosendale. He was 91 years old, and he died of mesothelioma. Mr. Milligan was a marine electrician by trade who worked on many ships over his career. As an example, during WW II, Mr. Milligan outfitted both the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary (the originals) transport ships to carry troops to Europe. Once the war was over, he and his crew transformed those ships back into cruise ships. When asked for an article published recently in the Hospice newspaper of Greensboro, N.C. where he was a resident for many years, he replied that his work was nothing short of “electric”! After 37 years in the marine electrical trade, Mr. Milligan moved to New Paltz and worked for SUNY New Paltz as an electrician. There he worked on the first computer which was installed at the college in the 1970’s. Upon his 80th birthday and after the death of his second, he became very active volunteering for both the Piedmont Triad Airport and the The Shepherds Group of Greensboro. He was active in a program called “Old People Helping Older People.” Through these volunteer groups, he was able to meet many people and be helpful to them. Mr. Milligan survived the death of two wives, Elsa Maland Milligan and May Anderson Milligan with whom he lived in the latter part of his life in Greensboro, N.C. He is survived by three children, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren who all live in the Northeast. In addition there are three step-children with children who live in Greensboro, N.C. and Pittsburgh, P.A. His childrens’ names are Pamela Sherman and her companion David Goodlife, who was a friend of Al’s and took care of Al’s every need in during the last days of life. A service will be conducted on Sunday at 4:30 PM at Simpson – Gaus Funeral Home, 411 Albany Ave. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice, Inc., 34 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401 or to the Hospice at Greensboro, Inc., 2500 Summit Avenue, Greensboro, NC 227405.