Paul Franklin Mills

Paul F. Mills, age 88, died peacefully at home in Gold Canyon, Arizona on April 25, 2023 after a brief illness. Paul was born on December 7, 1934 in Butler Township, Ohio, the youngest of the 9 children of Joseph O. Mills and Ezzie Mildred Shepard Mills (Porter).

Paul graduated from Centerburg High School (Ohio) in 1952, and promptly followed his 4 older brothers into service by enlisting in the Air Force in time for the Korean War. He served stateside as a mechanic working on fighter jets, assigned to the USAF Thunderbirds. He was stationed at Luke AFB west of Phoenix when he went on a blind date with Betty Carnett; they married on August 6, 1955 in Phoenix. His Air Force buddies planned to put Paul on a bus to Flagstaff and Betty on one to Bisbee, so they snuck out of their wedding reception and led a car chase through the streets of Phoenix before hiding out in an A&W root beer stand. The annual tradition of having an ice-cold A&W on their anniversary continued throughout their 54-year marriage.

Paul’s Air Force training led him to work as an aircraft and rocket engine mechanic at Boeing in Washington before moving to Mesa AZ in 1959 to work at Rocket Power. Later he was a quality assurance engineer at Allied Signal/Honeywell in Phoenix. After taking an early retirement, Paul and Betty spent several years traveling throughout Arizona as inspectors for the state’s GED testing centers.

Paul and Betty were active chaperones for the Girl Scouts and Mesa Schools music events, and were founding members of the Arizona Jackrabbits Motorcycle Club, organizing an annual Motorcycle Rodeo. Paul was also called on by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to act as motorcycle escort for parades and other Sheriff functions. After retiring to Sun Lakes, AZ Paul was appointed Commander of the Sun Lakes Sheriff’s Posse, assisting the Deputy Sheriffs where needed. He and his vintage 1919 Ford Model T truck were often asked by Sheriff Joe Arpaio to drive him in various parades.

After Betty passed away in 2009, Paul led an active life of golf, family and friends for several years. When his health began to decline, he moved to Gold Canyon to be closer to his daughters. In September 2022 he participated as a Korean War Veteran in an Honor Flight to Washington, DC where he was honored as the oldest veteran on the trip. He described his time serving in the Air Force as ‘my pleasure’, and was supremely proud of his grandson Logan Mills’ decision to make a career of the US Navy.

Paul leaves behind daughters Lucinda ‘Cindy’ Mills (Mesa) and Laura-Lee Mills with her husband Mark Vanderheiden (Gold Canyon); grandchildren Laurissa Nichols Schilke (Gilbert AZ) and OS1 Logan Mills (USN), and 3 great-granddaughters.

A graveside service with military honors will be held May 5 for the family and close friends at Valley of the Sun Cemetery in Chandler, AZ. If you would like to honor the memory of Paul, please donate to help further cardiac or cancer research, or to your local animal shelter.