Robert Leroy "Roy" McMillan III

Robert Leroy McMillan III

Robert Leroy McMillan III died on January 4, 2014.

Roy was born on January 1, 1950, the first child of Robert Leroy McMillan Jr. and Virginia Maynard McMillan.

He grew up in Raleigh, and attended the public schools there. He attended Hargrave Academy, Wofford College and North Carolina State University.

As a youth, Roy was active in the Boy Scouts of America and attained the rank of Eagle. For several years, he worked as a counselor at Camp Durant and attended a National Jamboree in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. As a Scout, Roy developed a passion for hiking on the Appalachian Trail, long before it was a common practice. He maintained his interest in the Appalachian Trail and his appreciation of nature throughout his life.

In his professional life, Roy was an independent residential building contractor for many years, later joining Williams Realty and Building Company as a superintendent. In this capacity, he left his mark on many fine homes around Raleigh. Among those he built for Williams Building are homes in Carlton Square, Hayes Barton, on White Oak Road and in Anderson Heights.

Roy loved his work, his customers, his employers and the extended Williams family. He will be remembered for his calm, thoughtful approach to his work, and his great problem-solving skills. His attitude and expertise were greatly respected by all those with whom he worked.

Roy also was an avid Trivia player for many years. His keen intellect and wide range of knowledge will be sorely missed by his friends on the "Biscuits and Gravy" trivia team.

Roy was very involved in activities in and around the Riverton community in Scotland County, where he spent his summers as a boy, and where he found great joy in his leisure time as an adult. His "Yellow House" at Riverton was a favorite place. Some of his favorite pastimes were blackberry picking and cobbler making, canoeing, visiting friends and family on the riverbank and setting catfish lines for the children.

He established and led the annual Fourth of July Parade to the great delight of the children of the community. He and several others from Riverton worked to establish a Riverbank Trust securing for perpetuity the right of access to and the use of the Cypress Bend Landing on the Lumber River. This preserves the very heart and soul of the Riverton community.

Roy spearheaded the creation of the Catharine Campbell and Daniel White Scholarship fund for a deserving graduate of Scotland County High School. The scholarship is administered by the North Carolina Community Foundation, and is designed to provide a four-year grant to a public university in North Carolina for a student who would otherwise not be able to attend college.


Roy was actively engaged in farming and long leaf pine restoration on lands of Riverton Properties, LLC, and Argyll farms.

Roy is survived by his devoted wife, Tammie, his father, Robert L. McMillan Jr., and his beloved daughters, Sarah McMillan Armas and husband, Steve (grandson James), and Carrie Virginia McMillan and husband, David Boaz. He is also survived by stepsons Connor and Cory Ellis.

Surviving siblings are Douglas W. McMillan and wife, Jo Anna, Duncan A. McMillan and wife, Cornelia, Rebecca McMillan Sparrow and husband, David, Mary McMillan Bensen and husband, Mark, and Lewis F. McMillan and wife, Beth. Eight nieces and six nephews also survive.

He is also survived by two maternal uncles, C. Douglas Maynard, MD, of Winston-Salem and W. Jackson Maynard and wife, Sandy, of Wilmington.

The family expresses its gratitude for the loving guidance provided by Roy's uncle, Doug Maynard, throughout Roy's illness and wishes to thank the team of physicians and caregivers at UNC Healthcare including Mark C. Weissler, MD, Kamil Erfanian, MD, David Neil Hayes, MD, and Nathan C. Sheets, MD. The family also expresses gratitude to Hospice of Wake County for its essential role in Roy's care at the end of life.

A celebration of Roy's life will be held at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, 1801 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at 11 o'clock. Arrangements are by Brown-Wynne, St. Mary's Street.

The family will greet friends after the service, and will gather at other times at the home of Robert L. McMillan Jr. at 216 Hawthorne Road, in Raleigh.

A memorial service will be held at Spring Hill Cemetery in Wagram, NC at a later date.

Memorial gifts may be made to the North Carolina Community Foundation for the benefit of the Catharine Campbell and Daniel White Scholarship Fund.