Lloyd Edward "Ed" Mills

Lloyd Edward “Ed” Mills thoughtful husband, father extraordinaire, mischievous grandfather, and lover of 3 dogs, died on the 8th of September 2022. Ed was the oldest of three boys born to the late Lloyd and Emma Gennings Mills. He was “the last man standing,” having been predeceased by his parents and brothers (Marty and Carl). Ed will be meeting his buddy, Geronimo, who gave him his best dog years, near the rainbow bridge.

Ed’s other pups, Little Guy and Maximo, remain to comfort and continue to love the family.

A fan of Elvis and Roy Orbison, Ed expressed himself best through writing poetry, songs, and sometimes by changing slightly lyrics of the day: For instance, “Dirty Jeans” the dry cleaning song by AC/DC, “Two Pop Tarts” why would Stacy Q sing about terrible breakfast food? And who can forget his most recent, “That’s the way love grows “by Janet Jackson.

Ed regretted he and sons, Phillip and Robert Mills, reconnected later in life and that he never held his granddaughter, Lezhi (Lillie) (Catrin and Xiaoying Xie). Ed did spend time with Lezhi on Facetime calls and loved to sing to her.

Ed loved his grandsons, Collin and Trevor (Carrie Mills-Finley and Shawn Finley), and Cooper (Lori Mills-Maziarz and Matt Maziarz) Sharing with his grandsons his knowledge of fishing and golfing, two of his favorite past times, as well as, a bit of poker, and, of course, the delicate art of skipping class. Ed would also share fun rides in his pick-up truck or little red Fiero .If you were lucky- you would get a story. One of Ed’s favorite stories involved his much younger self getting kicked out of class for reading just as the teacher did- speech impediment included.

Winning all the Saturday morning dirty sock fights (after pulling all-nighters at the Unilever plant he managed) earned him the title “father extraordinaire” from his three daughters Lori, Carrie, and Catrin. Socks, smelling of the margarine the factory produced, somehow always beat the smelly socks his daughters would save for battle. Ed’s knowledge of terrible ‘80’s movies was acquired during his eldest daughter’s, Lori’s, teenage years. As Lori and all her friends enjoyed theater popcorn and the very latest John Hughes film, Ed sat a couple rows away so he “could keep his eyes on them”. His middle daughter, Carrie, and Ed’s games of catch were legendary. Each of them attempted to tell sillier jokes than the other- neither able to catch the ball. At any given moment, Ed might challenge one or all of his daughters to a foot race. He always won; until his youngest daughter, Catrin, finally beat him. That day, Ed hung up his racing sneakers and taught Catrin how to play basketball.

Ed was a thoughtful and loving husband to his wife of 57 years, Wanda Pointer-Blythe. Long drives, shared desserts, evenings out enjoying jazz were just some of the memories Ed and Wanda made together. Memories they shared with their neighbors included Ed cooking his shrimp in the toaster oven on the front porch (rather than the perfectly discreet back porch- much to the dismay of Wanda). Ed was saving on the electric bill and keeping the smell of cooking shrimp (and sometimes cauliflower) outside of the house.

Ed will be remembered for his smelly socks, silly songs, 80s movie knowledge, giggly games of catch, fast feet, fun life lesson stories, and the cooking show he hosted from his front porch- but, he will be remembered most for how very much he loved his family.

They will miss him every day.

In lieu of flowers, please remember Ed by sending memorials to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital online at stjude.org