John H. "Hugh" MacMillan III

Family-Placed Obituary

JOHN H. MacMILLAN, III 'Hugh' John H. MacMillan III, (Hugh) age 80, passed away on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at his home in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Hugh was the great-grandson of W.W. Cargill, the founder of Cargill, Incorporated, and the son of John H. MacMillan, Jr., past Chairman and CEO of the Company. Born in Minneapolis, Hugh grew up in Wayzata, Minnesota and attended The Blake School, Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts, West High School, and the University of Minnesota. Hugh served in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps for two years during the Korean War. He began working for Cargill, Inc. in 1955 as a Grain Merchant and held positions in Great Falls, Montana, Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Minneapolis. His career spanned 35 years during which he held several positions within the company, including Cargo Carriers where he supervised barge and tugboat operations. Hugh served on the Waycrosse, Inc. Board of Directors for many years and retired from Cargill in 1990. Subsequently, Hugh founded and managed HughMac Towing which operated three towboats and 90 barges on the Mississippi River. An innovator, he had a passion for boat design and built numerous boats throughout his life, including a bow steering unit that was used in towboat navigation. Hugh loved his family dearly and lived life to the fullest. He had a great love for Minnesota and his home on Lake Minnetonka was special to him Ð from sunny days polishing his boats to winter days skating to Spirit Island; he often referred to Minnesota as God's Country. A sports enthusiast, hockey was his great passion. He played on many teams and had fond memories of his team, the Red Squirrels. He also enjoyed coaching and mentoring young players. An avid reader, his favorite authors included Louis L'Amour, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain and Herman Wouk. He lived in Florida for many years, loved the sea and shelling on his favorite beach at his beloved Cat Cay. He was a great fisherman and enjoyed bone-fishing and deep-sea fishing, and participated in tournaments throughout The Bahamas and the Caribbean. He was preceded in death by his grandchild, Nina M. Reed and his brother, W. Duncan MacMillan II. He is survived by his sister, Marion H. MacMillan; children, John H. MacMillan IV (Louise), David MacMillan (Karen), Kate Reed (Harold), Anne Pedrero (Robert), Donald MacMillan (Cynthia), Sandra Kirkpatrick (Todd), Daniel MacMillan, Christopher MacMillan and Andrew MacMillan; his 15 grandchildren and numerous nieces and cousins. His family wishes to express their sincere gratitude to all of his caregivers. The family requests that memorials be given in the name of John H. MacMillan III to the USA Hockey Foundation at 1775 Bob Johnson Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80906 and the Billfish Foundation at 2161 East Commercial Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33308. To express condolences and/or make donations Visit PalmBeachPost.com/obituaries