Selby Allen Mills

Selby Pauline Allen Mills, age 87, of Lake Worth, Florida passed away on February 2, 2023 at the Vi Care Center in Lantana, Florida. Selby was born on January 21, 1936. Her parents were Park and Pauline Malone Allen of Daytona Beach, Florida.

Selby will be lovingly remembered by her husband, Thomas J. Mills. She will be forever loved by her three children, Terri Mills Vizoso, Lyn Mills Emery (Don Emery) and Steven Thomas Mills (Kelly Jo Halstead Mills) all of Lake Worth, Florida. Tom and Selby have six grandchildren which have been the joy of their lives, Anthony Vizoso (26), Erica Emery (25), Nicholas Vizoso (23), Ethan Mills (22), Joseph Emery (20), and Daniel Mills (18). Selby has a younger brother, Dr. Hayden Allen (Patsy O’Sullivan Allen) of Tarpon Springs, Florida. She loved watching their three children, Kristen, Denny and Matthew, grow up and start their own families. She also has many nieces and nephews on the Mills’ side of the family whom she loved very much.

Selby grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida. Her home was built by her four, Finnish uncles. She was very proud of this home and never wanted to let it go. Today her childhood home is fondly called the “Beach House” by her children and grandchildren. Selby graduated from Seabreeze High School in 1954 and was proud to be a Sandcrab. She continued her friendships with her childhood friends, nicknamed the Lunch Bunch. Throughout her life, she met up with the Lunch Bunch on specified weekends. Until the end of her life, these lasting friendships meant the world to her.

Selby began her studies at Florida State University in the Fall of 1954 as an education major. She was a very engaged student at Florida State. She was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority and the “Flying High'' Circus performing as a rope trapeze artist. Florida State is where she met the love of her life, Tom Mills, also known as “Babes”. Tom and Selby graduated from Florida State in the Spring of 1958. They married on June 17, 1959. Their first home was in Palm Springs, Florida which they purchased with a $100 down payment. They became teachers in Palm Beach County Schools where Selby taught for 34 years, retiring in 1993. She dedicated her life to students of South Olive Elementary, Boynton Beach Elementary and Galaxy Elementary. Selby and Tom spent the summers of 1962-1963 in Boone, North Carolina so that Tom would be able to earn a Masters of Education from Appalachian State. These times were some of her fondest memories.

Grandy loved to tell stories, sometimes more than once. She would always say, “Now if you have heard this one, stop me,” but we never would. The joy within her, as she told the stories of her life, always outweighed the redundancy. Her spirit was pure. She never said an unkind word. She saw good in everyone and her view of this world was beautiful. She lifted people up and she believed that if you set your mind to it, you can do anything! This belief was especially true when it came to her grandchildren.

After retirement, Selby had a very active life. In between cruising the Caribbean with Tom aboard the Stingray IV, she took care of their grandchildren. They were the pride and joy of her life. She thoroughly enjoyed babysitting for her working children and taking all six grandchildren on day excursions in the “big white van” with Tom. Grandy helped create lifelong memories for them to cherish.

Selby loved words! She was always singing ditties or songs. She enjoyed citing and writing poetry. She read books and told elaborate, wonderful stories. She knew the longest word in the English language (which none of us can remember). She was quick witted and could make you laugh. Her frequent phrases were, “Stop it Steven!”, “Only boring people get bored”, “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again” and “If you are doing that in parts, leave my part out.” She coined great pet names, too. For example, Tiny Dancer, Cumulus and Squint, for the cross-eyed semi feral cat in her backyard. She loved sketching/painting, journaling, taking pictures, playing and listening to music, crafting, teaching and collecting things. But most of all, she loved Tom and her babies.

Selby was very proud of her heritage. Her father was from Lulu, Florida and her mother, Pauline, was 100% Finnish. The people of Finland have a saying “Oppia aIk kaikki” which means “live and learn.” This was Selby’s life. She loved nature and animals. Whether it was watching Marty Stouffer’s Wild America on Saturday mornings, developing a native plant Nature Walk at Galaxy Elementary, beach combing or hatching chicks, she was a true lover of nature. She also worked diligently on an application for the 1986 Challenger, “Teacher in Space” Program. She really wanted to go to space and had she been selected, she would have done it…SISU! (Finnish for being brave and having determination). Selby proved her love for the earth. She donated to help organizations to make the world a better place. She bought trees for planting on Arbor Day. She even bought a cow for a village in Africa. She was recycling before recycling was cool. Everything she looked at she believed could be turned into something beautiful. If it was not used for her own creativity, it was used to teach creativity to the children in her life. This would include her children, her Crestwood neighborhood children, her grandchildren and most of all the children she taught in school. Selby was born to teach, care for and love children. She adored babies. She never stopped being a lifelong learner, nor have the people in her life. “Oppia alk kaikki”

Grandy was a wife, mother, grandmother and teacher. The lessons she taught us will forever be in our hearts. We love you Grandy and we will love you forever.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Liberty Park Elementary’s Fine Arts Department. The family appreciates you remembering Selby. She loved the arts. The students at Liberty Park would benefit greatly from your gifts.

Thank you,

The Mills Family

Liberty Park Elementary

Fine Arts/ Selby Mills

Attention: Liliana Campos

6601 Constitution Way

Greenacres, Florida 33413