Robert Leroy McMillan Jr.

Robert Leroy McMillan, Jr., died on July 10, 2024, surrounded by his loving family. He lived an exemplary life, defined by dedicated service, faithful and selfless generosity, and a passionate commitment to justice.

He was born at home on Park Drive in Cameron Park (now Forest Park) and lived most of his life three blocks from his birthplace. He was the son of Robert Leroy McMillan, Sr. and Mary Lee Swann McMillan.

Robert attended Lulie Busbee’s Kindergarten, four doors from home. As a curly red-headed boy, he forged lifelong friendships playing in the vast woods behind his house where he encountered gypsy encampments and roamed the neighborhood with his pet goat, Billy.

His favorite times were summers in Riverton at his father’s old homeplace on the Lumber River in Scotland County. There, a host of extended family shaped his early development, but he had a special bond with his Aunt Netah, whose unconditional love sustained him throughout his life.

In the height of The Great Depression, his days at Riverton were full of simple joys—helping with chores on the farm, swimming and boating on the river, porch time with cousins, singing at “Riverton Nights,” and playing tennis on the dirt court, now considered to be the oldest in North Carolina.

He attended Wiley School and Broughton High School, where he served as president of the student body and was named Mr. Needham Broughton in 1941. Speaking at the Wiley School Centennial Celebration in 2023, Robert tenderly recalled the full names of all his teachers and a special memory about each one.

After graduation from Broughton, he entered Wake Forest College where he played football on an undefeated freshman team. When Pearl Harbor occurred, sports paled in significance. Like so many of his contemporaries of The Greatest Generation, Robert was justifiably proud of his military service. While completing his undergraduate work at Wake Forest College in 1942, he was summoned by the officer procurement program to a year of military training and academic work at Duke University. Soon after Robert was commissioned as an officer in the US Marine Corps, he received his bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest by mail. He was activated in 1943, and deployed with the Second Marine Division to Guam, where he and his fellow Marines awaited orders for the invasion of mainland Japan. In August of 1945, he was among the first soldiers to visit the devastated city of Hiroshima, just days after the attack.

Robert married Virginia Elizabeth Maynard in August,1948, in San Jose, Costa Rica. They settled in Raleigh where they raised six children. Their home was a hub of activity with a ball field in the side yard and basketball court in back. Through the years it became a loving sanctuary for many extended family members. Robert and Virginia’s selfless sharing of their home even extended to two of Robert’s homeless clients.

After completing law school at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1949, followed by a year of private practice with his father, Robert was recalled to active duty in 1950 for two years of additional service in the Korean War.

During a legal career spanning more than five decades, he worked for several years as a prosecutor of the Raleigh Municipal Court before beginning his private practice. As time went on, he became primarily a trial lawyer in the field of criminal defense. Throughout his career, he devoted much of his time to the representation of those most in need. His innate sense of justice and commitment to the rule of law compelled him to accept more than his share of pro bono cases. He cherished his relationships with trusted legal partners – his father, his brother Archie, his son Duncan, Jim Kimzey, Steve Smith, and William Plyler.

Robert served as president of the Wake County Academy of Criminal Trial Lawyers, the Tenth Judicial District Bar Association, and the Wake County Bar Association. He also represented the Tenth Judicial District Bar as councilor with the North Carolina State Bar for ten years. The North Carolina Bar Association named him a member of its General Practice of Law Hall of Fame, and the Wake County Bar Association honored him as the first recipient of the Chief Justice Joseph Branch Professionalism Award. He also received the NC State Bar’s John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award. In 2012 he was inducted into the Raleigh Hall of Fame.

Robert’s involvement in civic and religious life included many years of service as a scoutmaster of Troop 306 of the Occoneechee Council of Boy Scouts of America, for which he was recognized with the Silver Beaver Award. A lifelong member of Pullen Memorial Church, he served in many capacities, including Sunday School teacher, Deacon Chair and Trustee. Robert served as commander of Raleigh Post Number One of the American Legion and as president of the Rotary Club of Raleigh. He was on the Raleigh Historic Sites Commission when Mordecai Square was declared a city park. He also served on the NC Bar Association committee for restoration and relocation of the Badger Iredell law office, which now stands on Mordecai Square.

Robert led by example, mentoring young attorneys and leading scouts on weekend camping trips. He enjoyed his many hikes on the Appalachian Trail with a special group of close friends, playing the piano every morning before breakfast, and working in his yard (always sporting a necktie). Deeply committed to democratic values and progressive ideals, when asked in his last days what he wanted the hospital chaplain to pray for, his immediate and tearfully earnest response was, “Pray for The United States of America.”

Robert lived at home and went downtown to his Martin Street office until he was 96, walking to and from work for as long as he was able. His final years were spent at the Oaks at Whitaker Glen, where he continued to wear a necktie and signature fedora. He and Agnes Cochrane Summerlin enjoyed a special friendship there, which enriched his life immeasurably.

As he approached his 100th birthday, Robert kept up his routine of rising and walking before dawn. He organized sing-a-longs of patriotic music, wrote his personal memoir in long-hand on seven yellow legal pads, planted Long Leaf Pines on his property in Scotland County, and joyfully jumped into the Thanksgiving leaf pile with his great grandchildren.

In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by Virginia Maynard McMillan, his wife of 56 years; his son, Robert L. “Roy” McMillan, III; his brother, Archibald Alexander McMillan; and daughters-in-law, Jo Anna Lilley McMillan, and Cornelia Howell McMillan.

Surviving are his children, Douglas McMillan, Duncan McMillan, Rebecca Sparrow (David), May McMillan Bensen (Mark), and Lewis McMillan (Beth). His 16 grandchildren also survive him: Campbell McMillan, Evan McMillan, Sarah Armas, Carrie McMillan, Luisa Sparrow, Angela McKeand, Mary Laurence Crook, Virginia Williams, Worth McMillan, Lee Anna Maness, Roy McMillan, Kate Hall, Raine McMillan, Matt McMillan, Griffin Bensen, and Riley Bensen. Also surviving are his 14 great grandchildren, his brother-in- law, Douglas Maynard, many nieces and nephews, and beloved Riverton cousins.

A celebration of Robert’s life was held at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, 1801 Hillsborough Street, on Saturday, July 20, 2024 at 11 o’clock. The family will received in the church’s Finlator Hall immediately after the service. A family graveside service will be held at Spring Hill Cemetery in Wagram, NC. The service will be livestreamed through the following link, https://vimeo.com/event/4451933/f795525bf1

The family requests that those wishing to make a memorial gift consider one of the following: Pullen Memorial Baptist Church; the Anna Elizabeth Liles Scholarship Fund at Meredith College; or Legal Aid of NC.

Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary’s Street, Raleigh, NC.