William Henry "(Bill)" Mills
1944 - 2020
William (Bill) Henry Mills, age 76, of
Newton, passed away on September 13, 2020. Born in 1944 to Clara
(Janzen) and Earl Mills, he was a lifetime resident of Newton,
Kansas. Bill graduated from Newton High School in 1962, and attended
Hutchinson Community College and Emporia State University. At the age
of 22 he married Donna (Epp) in 1967.
Bill's love for cars began at a young
age. He spent his early years helping at his father's auto salvage
business and later became interested in building and racing cars. As
a young man he raced stock cars and mini modified cars, winning
numerous races at 81 Speedway and other Kansas racetracks. He worked
at H & Y Auto and later opened his own repair shop called Mills'
Auto. Bill was well known as the Newton High School Auto Technology
Teacher, where he worked for 30 years before retiring in 2007. During
his teaching career he inspired many students to develop their own
skills and knowledge of the automotive industry. In his retirement
Bill enjoyed racing with his brother, Bryson, and the Kansas Antique
Racers Association.
bill was preceded in death by his
parents, Clara and Earl Mills, sister Beverly Hendry and brother
Bryson Mills. Survivors include Donna, his loving wife of 53 years,
daughters Kristin (Karsten) Streufert of Dallas, TX, Jennifer (Glenn)
Barber of Wichita, Erin Craddock of Wichita, granddaughters Caroline
and Julia Barber, as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Bill was beloved by all who knew him
and will be greatly missed. Although he had many talents, he will
mostly be remembered by his family for his gifts of story-telling,
cooking, holiday entertaining and his faith in God. Bill was a
long-time member of the First Baptist Church where he served as a
deacon and Sunday school teacher for many years. Later in life he
attended St. Matthew's Episcopal Church and Trinity Heights United
Methodist Church. In his spare time, he especially loved to watch
college sports and old western movies, play card games and listen to
music.
A memorial service will be held on
Saturday, October 3, 2020 at 3:00pm at Trinity Heights United
Methodist Church, 1200 Boyd Ave. in Newton. Mask will be required in
the church during the service and social distancing protocols will be
followed.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests
memorials be directed to Good Shepherd Hospice or Newton Home Health
in care of Petersen Funeral Home.
