John W. Mills

John “Jay” William Mills, 89, passed away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of May 19, 2015 at the Terrace at Beverly Lake in Everett, WA. Jay was born Sept. 15, 1925 in Stigler, OK, the seventh of eleven children born to William “Bill” and Ida Mills. In the late ‘30s, many of the family left eastern OK for the prospect of better living and working conditions in the San Joaquin Valley of California, settling in Bakersfield and nearby Wasco.

Jay joined the U.S. Navy in January 1944, at age 18. While serving, Jay met his future wife Zelda Shepherd when she and her mother were walking along a street during the New Year’s Eve celebration in downtown Seattle, Dec. 31, 1944. He shipped out mid-January 1945 aboard aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill to the South Pacific. On the morning of May 11, 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, the ship was hit and severely damaged by two Japanese kamikaze planes, suffering the loss of 346 men killed, 43 missing and 264 wounded. Jay was awarded for helping save several of his shipmates by pulling them from a smoke-filled deck up the outside wall of the ship to safety on the flight deck. The ship limped back to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for repairs, allowing Jay to once again see Zelda. The two married in August 1945. By the time the ship was ready to sail again, the war had ended. Jay was honorably discharged from the Navy in January 1946. Daughter Sandra was born in August 1946 and son John was born in 1951.

In 1953, Jay ran a crane during the construction project that added 3 additional floors to the main downtown Seattle Bon Marche building. His proficiency at operating heavy equipment fueled his desire to start up his own construction business. In 1956, the family moved from Seattle to Edmonds where Jay and neighbor Whitey Bowen began B&M Contractors.

In the mid-‘60s, he purchased a 110-acre former dairy farm south of Monroe, part of which he converted to a thoroughbred training and breeding center, complete with a 6-furlong racetrack and starting gate. About that same time, he became a fulltime racehorse trainer at Longacres and later in the ‘70s, Jay became President of the Washington Horse Breeders’ Association. In 1972, Jay and Zelda moved into a home on part of the property overlooking the training center.

In 1984, Jay built Rax Restaurant in Monroe which son John managed for several years before it was sold to KFC. In 1986, he purchased ten acres adjacent to his old training center and built their current home. Later he sold the training center, retaining the acreage on which their first house sat. In 1992, Jay built a summer home on the south shore of Lake Chelan for him and Zelda and their family to enjoy.

Jay was an avid bird hunter and skeet and trap shooter from boyhood into his late 60s. During the ‘50s and ‘60s, besides bird hunting, Jay’s major hobby was training and handling bird dogs, especially Weimaraners and English Pointers, spending numerous weekends each year competing with these dogs in field trials in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California. Jay also enjoyed maintaining his properties and was a jack-of-all-trades, often offering his time, skills and general know-how in helping family and friends. He loved, and was quite adept at, operating cranes, backhoes, bulldozers, road graders and other heavy machinery. Jay thrived on telling jokes and playing pranks on family, friends and even unsuspecting strangers.

He especially enjoyed spending time with his family and was generous with his kids, grandkids and great grandkids. Jay was very proud of his and Zelda’s 69-year marriage. Jay is survived by Zelda and their two children (and their spouses) Sandra (Craig) and John (Sue). He had four grandchildren Kelli, Brianna, Mark and Brigit and two great grandchildren Taylor and Ayla. Jay was preceded in death by his brothers Harry, Buster, Roy, Hubert and Gene and sisters Freda (Havens), Rena (Wilson) and Norma (Crawford). He is survived by brother Pat and sister Rita (Portwood).

Private services will be held by the family at Purdy Walters Floral Hills in Lynnwood. A celebration of Jay’s life will be planned for a later date.