Luther W. Mills Jr.

Family-Placed Obituary

Luther W. Mills Jr., age 84, died peacefully on the morning of March 16, 2004, after a long and courageous battle with heart disease. He was born January 9, 1920, in Gonzales, Texas. Throughout his life, he was successful in his career and ensured he had time to devote to his church and many charitable organizations. After volunteering for military service, Luther served with the 39th Troop Carrier Squadron stationed in the Philippines where he received his Army Air Crew Member Badge and Wings on August 27, 1945. He was the Chief Mechanic for the General in command of the Artillery Division and a member of the Southern Philippine Liberation force. After his Honorable Discharge he went to work for the US Post Office and later found his career of choice at the Texas Employment Commission where he worked for over 25 years. While at TEC, he spent a memorable 3 years with the National Alliance of Businessmen, was a founding member of the board of the Public Employees Credit Union and an active member of the Capital Area Prayer Breakfast. When he retired in 1985, he was TEC's Insurance Coordinator for the State of Texas. An active member of Grace United Methodist Church for 56 years, he served his church in many capacities including Chairman of the Administrative Board, Member of the Board of Trustees, President of the Methodist Men, Chairperson of the Pastor- Pastoral Relations Committee, Lay Leader and Conference Delegate. Luther was a founding member of the South Austin Optimist Club spending many years working to assist the Little League Baseball Organization. For 22 years, he enjoyed working at the Longhorn football games and remained an avid fan throughout his life. Luther was a loving husband, father and grandfather who gave his family unconditional love, instilling the love of family and friends in each of them and often telling both his daughters and grandsons that they were capable of accomplishing anything they wanted to. His pride in his family was evident to all who knew him. He is survived by his best friend and wife of almost 60 years, Zelma McClain Mills; daughter, Karen Flournoy and husband, Malcolm and daughter, Diana Wall, all of Austin; and his grandsons, Chuck Wall and partner, Royd Buchanan of Fort Worth, Kevin Wall and wife, Allison of Kingsland, GA, Trey Flournoy of Austin and Brandon Flournoy of Katy. He is also survived by two great-granddaughters, Margaret Wall and Erin Wall. He is survived by one sister, Rickie Stuckey of Boise, ID; his brother-in-law, Bill McClain and wife, Janelle; and sister-in-law, Kay Tidwell. He was blessed with many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Among these are Louise Kyle and husband, Bob, Virginia Wallace and husband, Bill, Sherry McClain, Marla McClain and husband, Ed Hamel, and Skip Mills and wife, Liz. The family would like to express special thanks to L.E. Arnold, M.D., John Dieck, M.D., Debbie Hardin, R.N., and the nurses and staff at Infusion Therapy, South Austin Hospital. Their dedicated care assisted in his ability to live life to its fullest. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Thursday, March 18th at Harrell Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am, Friday, March 19th at Harrell Funeral Home, 4435 Frontier Trail. Graveside services will follow at Forest Oaks Memorial Park in Austin. Memorial contributions may be made to Grace United Methodist Church, 205 East Monroe, Austin, TX 78704. Arrangements by Harrell Funeral Home, 4435 Frontier Trail, Austin, TX 78745 512-443-1366.