Edward L. McMILLAN Jr.

McMILLAN, Edward L. Edward L. (Reds) McMillan, Jr., 74, died (June 18, 2010) at Middlesex Hospital after along bout with Alzheimers. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Reds was the son of Elizabeth (Quinn) and Edward L McMillan. He grew up in the Philadelphia area and attended Lower Merion public schools. After graduating in 1957 from Princeton University, where he was captain of the baseball team, Reds joined the US Navy and in 1958 married Jane Stokes from New York City. After the Navy Reds returned to the Philadelphia area where he taught Latin and Greek at the William Penn Charter School and pursued a Masters in Classics at Bryn Mawr. In 1967 he went back to school to get a doctorate in education from Harvard and the whole family moved to Massachusetts. From 1969 to 1972 he was Assistant to the Superintendent in Shaker Heights, Ohio and from 1972 to 1974 he was Superintendent of the Smethport Pennsylvania School System. In 1974 he joined a family business, Anderson Oil & Chemical Co. in Portland, Connecticut and he and his family moved to Middletown. In 1988 Reds began mentoring Middletown students and started the Middletown Mentoring Program in 1993. He was elected to the Middletown Board of Education in 1996 and served three terms. He was also active in community service through Gilead Community Services where he was Chairman of the Board from 2002 to 2005. He continued to play as many sports as possible and was still playing tennis in October 2007. Despite his many accomplishments he always thought of himself first and foremost as an athlete. In addition to his wife, Reds is survived by his four children, Margaret McMillan of Newton, MA, Elizabeth Gordon of Peterborough, NH, Edward L. McMillan, III of Ashland, MA, and Lucy McMillan of Middletown, CT, his eight grandchildren, his sister, Elizabeth McMillan, RSM of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and his brothers, William of Bala Cynwyd, PA and John of Sacramento, CA, and Traci L. Higgins of Washington, DC who became a part of the family when her mother died in 1985. A mass of Christian burial will be held June 26th at 10:30 a.m. at Wesleyan Chapel, High Street, Middletown. Contributions in his name may be made to Gilead Community Services, P.O. Box 1000, Middletown, CT or the charity of your choice. Kindly omit flowers. The Doolittle Funeral Home, 14 Old Church St., Middletown is in charge of arrangements.