Joe Mills

Joe Mills, age 88, of 425 Pacific St., Ripon, died Wednesday evening, September 17, 2003, at Parkview Care Center, Ripon where he has been since this past April.

He was born January 15, 1915, at Minersville, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Schuylkill Haven High School. Joe came to Wisconsin in 1938 to be employed at the Schultz Honey Farms. On November 30, 1939, he was united in marriage to Bernice Schultz. When Mr. Schultz retired in 1945, he became the owner of Schultz Honey Farms. In 1963, he sold the honey farm to Leonard and Eldon Schmitz, and worked at the Green Giant Rosendale plant 10 years, retiring in 1976. Joe devoted his retirement years to his tree farms in Marquette County.

Joe was a life member of the Wilderness Society, National Parks Association and the Sierra Club. He actively supported the work of The Nature Conservancy, the Ice Age Trail Foundation and a number of other national and state environmental groups. He received awards from the Izaac Walton League, the Soil Conservation Society and from Marquette County for his forestry work. Joe served on the Ripon School Board for 11 years, and was on the Ripon Library Board for 2 terms. He was a member of Our Saviour’s United Church of Christ, Ripon.

Survivors include his wife, Bernice of Ripon; daughters, Nancy Mills of Ripon and Dolores (George) Dupont of Long Beach, Mississippi; grandchildren, Joshua (Angela) Dupont of Dallas, Texas and Jessica Dupont of Long Beach, Mississippi and Timothy Kuehn of California; brother, Phil Mills and sister, Ann McCall, both of Connecticut. He was preceded in death by parents and daughter, Judy Kuehn.

Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. on Monday, September 22, 2003, at the Butzin-Marchant Funeral Home with Rev. Mark R. West officiating with visitation from 9 a.m. until the time of the service. Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery, Ripon. Memorials will be given to the Salvation Army in his name..

Butzin-Marchant Funeral Home, Ripon, is assisting the family.
www.butzinmarchant.com