Port Wentworth-Mr. John David Mills, Sr. passed away October 3, 2010 at the age of
eighty-eight at his home in Port Wentworth, GA. He is survived by his wife of fifty-nine
years, Joyce McDaniel Mills, his sons and daughter-in-law, John David Mills, Jr and
Mark Daniel and Claire Mills, a daughter, Jennifer Dean Mills and two granddaughters,
Ava Mills and Madeline Jones Mills. He is also survived by a brother and sister-in-law,
L.H. and Ann Mills and several nieces and nephews.

John was born on January 30, 1922 in Seville, FL, where his family had moved from
Horry County, SC. After a few years, his family returned to Horry County where he lived
through his teenage years. At the age of eighteen years he moved to Andrews, SC and
worked in a sawmill with his brother. He began his career as a railroad engineer with
Seaboard Airline Railroad in 1943 and retired from CSX in 1986 after forty-three years of
service. John enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1946, trained as a paratrooper in the 11th
Airborne Division, and served in Japan after World War II until 1947. A highlight of his
military career was his duty of guarding Gen. MacArthur's headquarters in Tokyo.

John was Life Member of Harpers Lodge no. 225 in South Carolina. He was also a 32nd
degree mason and a member emeritus of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Free
Masonry. He was a 67 year member of United Transporation Union and past local
secretary. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Port Wentworth.

John, a self educated man, valued education and made sure his family members were
educated. He read widely, usually westerns and history about World War II and Civil
War, and became an authority on many topics. His knowledge of railroading was vast.

John was a quiet man and loved being at home with family and friends. Railroad life was
a passion and the fulfillment of a childhood dream. He enjoyed gardening and fishing.
He had to give up fishing when he lost his vision, but still managed to garden while blind
until other frailties brought this to a halt.

Visitation: 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.

Funeral: 1 p.m. Wednesday at the First Baptist Church of Port Wentworth located at 402
Pinehurst Place. Burial will follow at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens located at 315
Greenwich Road in Savannah.

Remembrances may be given to Hospice Savannah, P.O. Box 13190, Savannah, GA
31416.

Thomas C. Strickland & Sons Funeral Homes, West Chatham Chapel, 901 W. Hwy 80,
Pooler, GA 31322 912-748-2444