Christopher Kyser Miree (Kyser), 23, a 2009 Vanderbilt University graduate, was found in his Mobile, Ala., apartment Friday with a gunshot wound to his head, and was pronounced dead Saturday, April 17, at the University of South Alabama Medical Center. The Mobile Police Department is conducting a homicide investigation.
Miree graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. At Vanderbilt, he served as president of the mechanical engineering honor society Pi Tau Sigma, vice president of Vanderbilt Aerospace Club, and as president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After graduating, he moved to Mobile to take a job with Chevron Corporation.
“Kyser was a delightful student in the classroom,” said Robert Pitz, chair of the mechanical engineering department at Vanderbilt. “He had a positive attitude and was always eager to learn. The students, faculty and staff in the mechanical engineering department mourn the loss of a young talented engineer with a promising career. We wish to extend our sympathies to his family.”
“Kyser excelled at whatever he did,” said A.V. Anilkumar, mechanical engineering professor and Vanderbilt Aerospace Club adviser. “He had that friendly smile; always willing to shoulder responsibility and to help out his friends.”
“I taught Kyser at Vanderbilt, and worked with him outside of class in the engineering honor society. Of the hundreds of students I’ve taught over the past decade and a half, Kyser stands out as one of the brightest and most engaging,” said Michael Goldfarb, H. Fort Flowers Professor of Mechanical Engineering. “His enthusiasm for life radiated through his bright smile and the sparkle in his eyes. He was a great young man.”
Miree was born December 2, 1986, in Birmingham, Alabama. Survivors include his parents, Benjamin Kyser and Kathryn Waller Miree, his brother, Harrison Moore Miree, his grandfather, Bogue Maultsby Waller, four aunts and four uncles, numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.
A memorial service will be held Tuesday, April 20, at 3 p.m. at Independent Presbyterian Church in Birmingham. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to The Kyser Miree Leadership Fund at The Altamont School (Birmingham) or your favorite charity.