Rev. Jeanne Mills

1942 - 2016

The Reverend Frances Jeanne Melis Mills (UU) died February 2, 2016 of a heart attack in her home on Meadow Lane in Dorset, VT. Remembered by family and friends as an inspiring, caring and free-spirited person, Jeanne led an iconoclastic life that took her from the suburbs of Long Island, NY to the far-flung jungles of South America, to the historic South Shore of Boston, Massachusetts, to the ministry of churches across the United States, and finally to the green mountains of Vermont. Born October 18, 1942 Jeanne graduated in 1960 from Garden City (NY) Senior High School. She graduated early from Bucknell University in 1963 (Kappa Kappa Gamma) and earned her Masters of Education at Columbia University in 1965. Inspired by President John F. Kennedys spirit of volunteerism, Jeanne enlisted in the Peace Corps, participating in the Colombia Educational Television program to teach English in South America. She married fellow volunteer Ellsworth Benson (Nick) Mills, December 26, 1965, in Bogota, Colombia. Nick served a tour of duty in Vietnam, and upon his return in 1970, the family settled in Scituate, Massachusetts, where Jeanne helped launch S.E.E., Scituate Environmental Effort. Following their divorce in 1979, Jeanne went on to earn an MBA from Simmons College, Boston in 1983, and a Masters in Divinity from Harvard in 1996. She worked as an interim minister, helping churches through times of transition. Upon retiring, she settled in Dorset, VT. A woman of great energy, diverse interests and much accomplishment, she will be deeply missed by those whose lives she touched. She is survived by her two daughters, Nicole Mills and Sara Mills, who remember and admire her passion, ethical ideals, activism, commitment to animals and the environment, and love of nature; by her grandson Henry Benson Mills-Whittelsey, who deeply loves his Grandma Jeanne; by brother Richard and wife Marilyn Melis; brother Gerald and wife Gwendolyn Melis; sister Darleen Melis and husband Irving Ingraham, M.D.; sister Carole Melis, Esq.; nieces and nephews Heather and Brian West and children Kipp and Hadley; Kay Melis Pannier; Adrianne and Keith Melis, and Leah and Alexander Ingraham. A Memorial Service will be held at the United Church of Dorset, 143 Church Street, Dorset, VT on March 5, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. Her ashes will be buried next to her mother in the Esson Family Cemetery in Mt. Angel, Oregon during the family reunion in July. In lieu of flowers, any donations can be sent to the Natural Resourse Defense Council or the Knox County Humane Society in Rockland, Maine.