Mary Kathryn Mills

Mary K. was born at home by midwife in Isabella, PA to parents, Jerko “Jerry” and Kattie Yurcic who had migrated from Croatia. Her father worked in the coalmines in Isabella and died from coal dust in 1941. Her mother had TB and died in 1953. The family belonged to the Croatian Fraternal Union (CFU) so following the father’s death, Mary K. and her sister, Stephanie, went to live in a CFU children’s home in Des Plaines, IL, near the Chicago area.

Mary K. played in the children’s home’s tamburitza orchestra. The orchestra traveled and played at multiple sites, which she enjoyed.

After high school in Des Plaines, Mary K. moved to Washington, DC to work for the union CIO. Some of her relatives worked at the union and found her a job there. The AFL and CIO merged while she was there. Mary K. started in the union in the publicity department. Having lived in the children’s home, she had no experience with telephones. One day while everyone else was at lunch, a reporter called and asked if there was a general strike there. Mary K. answered no and that he should check the Pentagon. At that time, President Truman lived in the Blair House because the White House was being repaired. The union building was just behind the Blair House and Mary K. could see the President come and go from the back of the Blair house. One day, Mary K. heard lots of noise outside and went out to investigate. She was told by a police officer to get back inside because there were shots being fired. Gunmen were trying to kill the President, which failed. Mary K. worked for the unions for 13 years, from about 1947 to 1960.

After the unions, Mary K. worked for Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) at their office in the NASA headquarters in Washington DC. Her office was next to that of the original astronauts. She got the chance to meet many of the astronauts and John Glenn often said “Hi” to her when he came in the morning. Mary K. had pictures signed by the astronauts and kept them as a reminder of fond memories. JPL closed the office at NASA and offered her a job at their lab in Pasadena, CA, which she took. She worked as a secretary in the director’s office, where she met her future husband, Philip M. Mills, in the JPL coral group. She later worked for Electro Optical Systems (EOS) in Pasadena as secretary to the CEO. EOS did work for JPL and she met the CEO at the JPL director’s office.

In 1968 Mary K. married Philip M. Mills in Pasadena and they moved to Ames, Iowa where Philip worked on and obtained his PhD in Computer Science at Iowa State. Mary K. worked as a secretary in a law office in Ames.

In 1972, Mary K. and Philip moved to Columbia, SC. Philip took a job teaching computer science at the University of South Carolina and Mary K. worked for a lawyer in downtown Columbia. Philip left USC in 1977 and worked at NCR until 2001, where he retired. Mary K. retired from the law office in 1978. After retiring, she did some temporary jobs, church work, took care of the home, Philip, and taxes until Philip retired.

There were no children. Mary K. is survived by her husband Philip M. Mills; her sister, Stephanie Jenness of Prince Frederick, MD; Stephanie’s two daughters, Christina (Kriss) Watts of Prince Frederick, MD and Quinn Ingemi Swedesboro, NJ. Each niece has three children.

Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com.