Randolph "Deacon" Millard

Randolph Tucker “Deacon” Millard, 87, formerly of Jackson, West Point, and Ridgewood, NJ, died Tuesday March 6 at his home. The family will receive friends from 3 to 5 pm Sunday March 10 at Wright and Ferguson Funeral Home in Ridgeland. A celebration of life will be held at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Brandon at 1pm on Monday March 11, 2013.

Mr. Millard is survived by his wife Daisy Van Dyke Millard; one son, Randolph T. Millard, Jr. (Margaret Russo-Millard) of Nashville, TN; two daughters, Betty Grace Terpstra (Timothy) of Washington, DC., Marilyn Facinoli (David) of Burke, VA; one sister, Mary Louise Stone (John) of Okolona, and nine grandchildren; also, three stepdaughters and one stepson Belinda (Tom), Candace (Bill), Peri (Mike), and Richard (Stephanie); and thirteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Mr. Millard was preceded in death by his wife Grace Justice Millard.

He served in the US Army 86th Infantry Division in World War II facing front-line combat in the European theater. He remained close to his fellow soldiers throughout most of the rest of his life and never lost his love of country and all that he helped to defend.

After graduating from Mississippi State University he worked for Justice Wholesale Grocers in West Point followed by Mississippi Industries for the Blind (MIB) from which he retired as Executive Director after decades of service. He also held executive positions at National Industries for the Blind headquarters in New Jersey. Mr. Millard remained on the Board of Directors for MIB until 2011.

He was an active member of St. Mark’s Methodist, teaching Sunday School and serving on many committees, most notably leading an extensive and successful building expansion project for the church. As a young man he was a Methodist lay leader who spoke in numerous small North and Central Mississippi churches on Sunday mornings often substituting in the absence of a minister.

Mr. Millard was an active member and officer of the Optimist Club at the local and district levels. He particularly enjoyed organizing and participating in Optimist Club events for children at the Deaf School of Mississippi.