Josephine M. Mills

Lady Josephine M Mills LHS OBC MSM Born in Stoke on Trent on March 25th, 1942, Jo passed away peacefully at her home in Mill Bay on May 18, 2008. In 1975 she immigrated to Calgary with her husband Mike and four children. There she started her life long commitment to those who had Down syndrome. She started the Ups & Downs parent support group, the Canadian Down Syndrome Society, Down Syndrome International and finally the Down Syndrome Research Foundation in Burnaby. The DSRF has grown to become the pre-eminent research facility into Down syndrome in the world. In 2004 she was made a Lady of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem under the authority of the late Pope John Paul II. In 2006 she received the Meritorious Service Medal from The Governor General and in 2007 she was made a member of the Order of British Columbia. She is survived by her husband of 43 years Mike and their four children and seven grandchildren: Damien (Maggie), Aidan, Madelaine and Colin, Simon (Robynne), Lauren and Josephine, Catherine (Jeff) Angel and Shayna, and Rachel. She is also survived by her sister Stella Wardell MBE and her husband John in the UK. She will be received into St Francis Xavier Church at 790 Kilmalu Road, Mill Bay for prayers on Sunday, May 25 at 7:00 pm. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:30 am on Monday, May 26 followed immediately by interment in The St. Francis Xavier graveyard. All are welcome but as St. Francis is very small please advise Telford's Funeral Services at (866)-503-5553 if you plan to attend, extra seating will be arranged. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Jo's name to the Down Syndrome Research Foundation, 1409 Sperling Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5B 4J8 specifying the Endowment Fund. The family would like to express their thanks to Drs J-M & L. Wilson, the chemo team at the Cowichan Valley Hospital, the leukemia team in Vancouver General Hospital and the Doctors and staff at the BC Cancer Agency for their care and help. TELFORD'S MID-ISLAND MEMORIAL SERVICES 1-(866)-503-5553