Bob Mills was born August 16, 1949 in Erie, Pennsylvania, to the late Ruth and Robert Mills, Sr. He passed away at his home in Beavercreek on Monday, July 13, 2020. Bob and his first wife Marcy were married for 39 years before she passed in 2009. He is also preceded in death by his parents.
Bob is survived by his devoted wife Barbara, daughters Janel (Jerad) Barnett; Melissa (Gavin) Spencer; step-daughter Sarah (Ben) Battaglia; step-son Alex Briggs; grandchildren Ally, Evan, and Carly Barnett, Owen, Mason, and Camden Spencer, Annie, Margot and Teddy Battaglia; sister Connie (Garth) Hess, nephews Kevin (Julie) Hess and Tim Hess, and many other nieces, cousins, friends and colleagues. There is nothing that Bob loved more than his family.
While we will all miss Bob so deeply, we are comforted by his legacy of caring as a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend and by the continuing impact of his decades of servant leadership, philanthropy and business excellence throughout the Miami Valley and Ohio.
Bob Mills was a self-made success and recognized leader in our community known not only for his business acumen, but also for his philanthropy. He worked his way through Gannon University, earning a Business Management degree. Then over 40 years ago, Bob moved his family to the Dayton region to launch his own company - with just $200 in his pocket. His entrepreneurial spirit provided the foundation for his construction company, Synergy Building Systems, and real estate development firm, Mills Development. While building over a billion dollars of commercial space and providing jobs for many, Bob learned the value of philanthropy and giving back to his community. Bob held a special place in his heart for his hometown of 40 years, the City of Beavercreek and Greene County, sponsoring just about every sports team and community event possible.
Bob loved supporting others who were taking the entrepreneurial path and he continued to provide funding and mentoring to many of the region’s small startups. He also gave of his time, having generously served on more than a dozen corporate and not-for-profit boards in our region over the last 30 years including Greene Memorial Hospital, Grandview Hospital Foundation, National Museum of the U. S. Air Force, Dayton Development Coalition, Wright State University Foundation, Homecroft, Inc, and is the co-founder and former Board Chair of Michael’s House, a children’s advocacy center in Greene County. Bob was especially proud of his contributions to pave the way for construction of the Indu and Raj Soin Hospital in Beavercreek and the Mills Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at Dayton Children’s Hospital in honor of his granddaughter and leukemia survivor Ally.
Together with his family, he created the Mills Family Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission focus as a regional resource to help “Support Women and Children in Need”. Next, Bob and Barbara wanted to create a legacy to send cancer into the sunset and so they created the Gala of Hope Foundation. To date the effort has raised and donated more than $6.5 million in the fight against cancer and to improve cancer care in our region.
Over the years, Bob has been recognized by organizations like the Dayton Regional STEM School; the Beavercreek Chamber of Commerce; Wright State University; the American Cancer Society; and by the national Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as its 2010 National Man of the Year for which Bob set a record raising just under $500,000 while his granddaughter Ally was battling Leukemia. Bob was recognized by the Family Violence Prevention Center of Greene County with the Outstanding Community Service Award for his service to Victims of Crime. Bob was honored to be a recipient of the Mathile Community Award and to be recognized by The Presidents Club of Dayton’s as the 2017 Citizen Legion of Honor recipient. In 2019, he and his wife Barbara were also honored by the Dayton Business Journal as the publication’s Regional Leaders of the Year award.
Everyone who knew Bob knew he was a kid at heart. He took extreme pride in his home at Fox Hill which he created to be a grandchild’s paradise. Each October he was known to throw the world’s best and biggest Halloween party. He loved sharing Fox Hill with so many friends and family over the years.
The family will hold a drive by visitation at Fox Hill on July 24, 2020 from 2pm to 6pm followed by a private celebration of life the following day officiated by Pastor Gil Dukeman of Grace Crossing Church. Arrangements are entrusted to Tobias Funeral Home in Beavercreek. Due to the current Covid-19 concerns, a livestream of the celebration will be available at Legacyeventgroup.com/stream. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions in his honor be directed to the Gala of Hope Foundation, a 501(c)3 charitable foundation, at galaofhope.net or mailed to 3500 Pentagon Blvd, Suite 500, Beavercreek, OH 45431.
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