Milford lost one of its greatest civic leaders last week, when Bill Kiger died after many years of heart issues. Last fall he suffered a severe bout of pneumonia that left him weakened. He passed peacefully at Delaware Valley Skilled Nursing just before dawn, with his family at his bedside on Feb. 18, 2026.
Born William Pulley Saunders Kiger, in Toledo, Ohio to Charles James Kiger and Georgiana Hardman Pulley, Bill lived in Manhattan during WWII while his father was with the U.S. Navy, before ultimately moving to Milford. Bill’s mother, Georgiana, was a niece of August Kiel, a marble importer known as the “Marble King”, who had a home on West Ann Street and a retreat on Wild Acres Lake.
Bill attended Milford Elementary, in the old Schoolhouse on West Harford Street, and the Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut. In Milford he made lifelong friends, becoming particularly close to the Palmer family.
During the Vietnam War, he was a volunteer enlistee in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany. Upon his return, he attended the University of Colorado-Boulder, where he worked at the legendary college music haunt “Tulagi.” He earned a bachelor’s degree as an English major with a minor in French, intending to pursue a career as a writer. He was proud that he was at Woodstock for Joe Cocker’s historic performance.
Bill’s career in magazine publishing in New York included stints at the New Yorker and Better Homes and Gardens, where he became a top sales executive, working in consumer goods and ultimately tourism, where he found his passion. He was a quintessential New Yorker, and knew Manhattan like the back of his hand. For years he drove to Milford on the weekends to help and be with his mother, Georgiana. In 1970, he married Linda Brown and had two children, Allison Belle and Charles James. He and Brown divorced in 1978.
He was a purposeful father, living a uniquely frugal lifestyle to provide an exciting upbringing for his children, taking them on iconic adventures of travel and culture, and providing enrichment in art and music, to inspire them to follow their dreams.
When Bill opted for early retirement from Meredith Corporation, he was the star first baseman on the company softball team. For years, Bill’s hobbies included learning about wine and keeping a monthly ranking of the top classic French restaurants in Manhattan. He was a lifelong learner and voracious reader of books ranging from the ancient Greeks to modern nonfiction.
In 1982, he met the love of his life, Patricia “Patsy” Delahanty and they eventually returned to his family home in Milford, where he told his family he would devote 10 years to public service in Milford.
Fortunately for Milford, that stretched into more than two decades of extraordinary volunteerism with a wide range of organizations and endeavors:
President of the Pike County Historical Society
President of the Historic Preservation Trust of Pike County
Leading efforts to authenticate the Lincoln Flag
Member, Milford Borough Council
Chair Pike County Chamber of Commerce’s tourism committee
Planting Bradford Pear trees in Milford’s Business District
Founded the annual Pear Blossom Festival and helped launch the Milford Pear Festival 5K run
Co-founded the Milford Enhancement Committee
Organizing support for preserving the Marie Zimmermann Farm, helping to create the Friends of Marie Zimmmerman and establishing Marie Zimmerman Day
Chaired Sean Strub’s 2017 campaign for Mayor of Milford Borough
Helped coordinate Christmas Light decoration contest
Bill’s unshakable values of authenticity, individualism, hard work, conservation of nature, commitment to citizenship and community improvement came largely from his mother and “Uncle” Bill Palmer. Georgiana Kiger served as president of the Milford Garden Club, co-founded the Pike County Arts & Crafts Group and was the first head of the Milford Shade Tree Commission, which organized the ‘Tree Bees’ in the 1950s that enhanced Milford’s urban forest. Bill Palmer and his family were also deeply engaged in Milford’s community life.
Bill was a persuasive voice on important local issues related to development, historic preservation, tourism and the environment. He was not afraid to speak from his heart and frequently took matters into his own hands, using his own funds to repair the sidewalk in front of the post office on Harford Street or to install signage for the Pinchot Greenway. Or literally in his own hands, when he spent hundreds of hours personally picking up litter or sweeping sidewalks throughout the commercial district.
Milford Enhancement Committee chair Dick Snyder said the “only reason” the MEC received a large grant from the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, for streetscape improvements on East Harford Street, was due to Bill’s persistence and follow-through. Bill was also instrumental in securing grants for the creation of the Pinchot Greenway, which connected Grey Towers through Milford Borough to the McDade Trail in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and the restoration of the Mott Street bridge.
Bill’s vision was always long-term; he opposed development that would put the Milford’s aquifer at risk as well as the development of the Santos Farm. He was part of the intervention that successfully scaled-back a proposed expansion of the Pike County Courthouse, to minimize its impact on the historic district. More recently, he raised important questions about the scope and impact of the central sewage project proposed for Milford’s commercial district. His frequent letters to the editor and articles about local history, tourism and development challenges helped shape our community’s public discourse for nearly four decades.
In 2021 Bill was honored when the Milford Enhancement Committee named the inaugural Milford Community Clean-Up Day in his honor. In 2022 he was named Pike County Volunteer of the Year.
Bill is survived by his wife Patricia Delahanty, children Allison and Charles Kiger, both of New York, NY, cousins Georgiana Bloom of Reston, VA and Louella “Lou” Watkins of Louisville, Ky. A celebration of Bill’s extraordinary life of service and love for his community will be announced in the spring.
In lieu of flowers, Bill’s family asks that donations in his honor may be made to the Pike County charity of your choice, or WRTI-FM www.wrti.org, Bill’s favorite classical radio station.