Mary Jane (Medlin) Mills (1925 - 2004)

Born 29 Aug 1925 in Muskegon, Muskegon County, Michigan

Ancestors

Wife of Gordon Candee Mills — married 13 Jun 1947 in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan, USA

Died 21 Jan 2004 at age 78 in Health Center, Fleet Landing Retirement Comm, Atlantic Beach, Duval County, Florida

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Biography

Residence 21 APR 1930. Muskegon Township, Muskegon County, Michigan. BET 1955 AND 1998. Galveston, Galveston County, Texas. ABT 1953. Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee.

Buried 26 JAN 2004. Oakland Cemetery, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.

Graduation: Michigan University of Houston, Texas.

Education: University of Michigan, Michigan.

Mary Jane Medlin Mills

Mary Jane Medlin Mills, 78, died Wednesday, January 21, 2004, at the Health Center at Fleet Landing Retirement Community, Atlantic Beach ,Florida, after a nine-year battle with Alzheimer's/Parkinson's complex.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, January 26, 2004, in the auditorium of Fleet Landing at 2:00 p.m. Private family interment will be held in the Oaklawn Cemetery of Jacksonville, Florida.

Mary Jane was born August 29, 1925, in Muskegon, Michigan. She met her future husband, Gordon Mills, at an Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship group at the University of Michigan in 1946, and they were married June 13, 1947, in Ann Arbor Michigan. They have two sons, David (Julia) and John; and a daughter, Melinda Mills Bradshaw (John). They have four grandchildren, Lauren and Marlena Mills, and Jack and Kyle Bradshaw.

Mary Jane graduated from Muskegon Junior College, attended the University of Michigan for several years, and then completed her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Houston with a major in History. Her special interests were in Greek and Roman history; also in the ancient histories of Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Biblical World. She was a member of the Archeological Institute of America. On four occasions she presented talks on ancient archeology and history at national meetings of the American Scientific Affiliation.

In 1980 and again in 1990, she went with tour groups to Israel, Egypt and Jordon. Throughout her life, Mary Jane was also very much interested in Genealogy, and did much research on both her own and her husband's ancestors. She was a charter member of the Galveston Genealogical Society and served two years as its president.

Mary Jane was much involved in the cultural life of Galveston, Texas where she lived from 1955 to 1998. She was a volunteer participant in Galveston's annual "Dickens on the Strand" celebrations, and in the Galveston Old Homes Tours. She was active in the Daughters of the Confederacy and in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She conducted the DAR Good Citizen's Award for four years among six Galveston County High Schools. She was an active member of the Galveston Book Club and often presented book reviews for the membership. She was an active supporter of the Galveston Symphony Orchestra.

Mary Jane was active in Christian student groups at the University of Michigan. After moving to Galveston, she and her family joined the First Presbyterian Church of Galveston, where she taught an adult Bible Class for about thirty years. With her husband, she regularly attended and participated in annual statewide conferences of the Christian Medical Society.

After working as a housewife and mother for about twelve years, she began a new career teaching mathematics at the junior high and high school levels in Galveston. Memorials may be made to the charity of your choice.

Services under the direction and care of QUINN-SHALZ, A FAMILY FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION CENTRE, Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 904-249-1100.

Published January 25, 2004

Source: Wilson County News 14 Feb 2004

Sources

1940 United States Federal Census ,https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-01795-00351?pId=81106856