DANIEL CLARENCE MILLS

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DANIEL CLARENCE MILLS Surrounded by his family, Daniel Clarence Mills passed away peacefully at Victoria General Hospital on Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 12:50 p.m. He was 94. He leaves behind his adoring wife of nearly 70 years, Louise, his daughter Glenna and her husband Chuck, his son Jim and his wife Leigh and his son Les, and many other beloved family members. He was pre-deceased by his parents Fred and Orpah Mills, and his siblings Henry, Bob, Les, Cliff, Mary and Dorothy, as well as his son-in-law, Garth Erickson. He also leaves behind eight grandchildren: Kristin, Scott, Douglas, Janice, Daniel, Avril, Bruce and Marie, and 12 great-grandchildren. Dan was born in Birds Hill, MB on April 17, 1914. While he lived his very early years in Sprague and Winnipeg, he returned with his family to Albert County, New Brunswick where much of their extended family was. It was here, in elementary school, that he first met Mary Louise Wright, later to be his wife. Life on the farm in Albert County combined hard work with a great variety of tasks and childhood joys, from farmyard chores, haying on the marshes and raising foxes, to sledding down the road that led up the mountain and singing on Sunday nights at Louise's house with all the teens in the neighbourhood. In 1937, Dan moved to Northwestern Ontario, where Louise joined him after their wedding on May 24, 1939. They lived first in Hudson and then in Ear Falls, where Dan worked doing many things, including moving freight for Starrat Airways and Transportation to and from the goldmine in Red Lake, by barge train in the summer and sleigh train in the winter. He also worked as a heavy mechanic, did hydro line maintenance, and finally settled as a plant operator for the Ontario Hydro generating station in Ear Falls. It was in Ear Falls that Dan and Louise raised their three children, Glenna, Jim and Les. Their children, and later grandchildren and great-grandchildren, have been their greatest joy. They always loved visiting us various places and having us visit in Ear Falls, On top of his work, he made more amazing things in his workshop at home than any of us can count, including a scow for pulling freight behind the boat to their cabin up the English River at Mattawa, a double bass fiddle, and a working miniature steam engine. We will miss his humour, his sense of adventure, and of course his love for family and friends. A celebration of Dan's life will be held Wednesday, January 21 at 11:00 a.m. at Harrow United Church where Dan and his family attended for many years. Interment to follow at Green Acres Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, the family graciously suggests donations to a charity of choice.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 19, 2009