Kenith Warren Miner

We celebrate the life of Kenith Warren Miner who was born on July 10, 1930, in Detroit, Michigan. Kenith departed this life on Thursday, September 2, 2021. He was born to Lindel Anderson and Rev. Simeon Miner Sr. and was the youngest of two boys. His parents and brother, Rev. Simeon Miner Jr. preceded him in death.

Kenith, better known as Professor Miner in the community, received his Associate of Arts degree from Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn Michigan, and his Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Education degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

In 1950, Kenith and his brother Rev. Simeon Miner Jr. focused on their lifelong passion for music and opened the Miner Brother’s School of Classical and Gospel Music. The “studio,” as it was affectionately called, started in the upstairs area of his father’s church, Cadillac Avenue Baptist Church, which was located on the east side of Detroit. One year after establishing the studio, he joined the United States Army during the Korean War and was ultimately stationed in Germany, where he served as a Chaplain from 1951 to 1953.

After returning to the United States, Kenith continued his work at the studio while also teaching in the Detroit Public School System for the next 30 years. During that time, Kenith met the love of his life and his partner for the next 55 years, Florence Moore of Hagerstown, Maryland. He married Florence in 1965 and moved to a lovely home in the Russell Woods area of Detroit. There, the family grew and welcomed two little girls, Kim and Kelly.

Kenith and Florence partnered in teaching in the music program at Lillibridge Elementary School in Detroit. He later taught at Lawton Elementary School in Detroit and eventually retired. In 1970, Kenith and Florence relocated the Miner Brother’s School of Classical and Gospel Music to the west side of Detroit, near Livernois Ave and McNichols Road. The school famously held an annual spring concert on the Saturday after Mother’s Day for over 40 years at New Mount Zion Baptist Church.

Kenith’s passion for music started at the age of 8 when he taught piano lessons in his parent’s home. Later, he went to the Detroit Institute of Musical Arts where he studied under the late Margaret Mannebach, who at the time, was the official pianist for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. His next piano teacher, Robert Nolan, then dean of the Robert Nolan School of Music, was also a key inspiration in his life.
Professor Miner’s instruction has touched more than a thousand students during his career as a Detroit Public School Teacher and a private music instructor. Some of his students have gone on to become successful music professionals, accompanying performers like Aretha Franklin, the Spinners, Vickie Winans, and a host of other Ministers of Music across the country.

He also was proud of the years when he was the director of The New Providence Baptist Church Male Chorus and the time he served as a musician at Vernon Chapel AME Church and a host of other churches in the Detroit area. In 2004, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History honored Professor Miner by recognizing his dedication to his career, his family, and community. Professor Kenith Miner will be fondly remembered by many Detroit natives as the “World’s Greatest Gospel Music Educator.”

Kenith is survived by his two daughters, Kimberly Louise Miner Strong (James) of Alpharetta, GA; Kelly Lynn Miner of Southfield, MI; two grandsons, Jordan and Jamaal Strong, Alpharetta, GA, great nephews: Steven Paul Miner Jr. Atlanta GA, Dana Lashar Miner, San Diego CA; several godsons and cousins and many friends.