Jean Louise Mills

We are deeply saddened to share the loss of beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin and friend to all, Jeannie L. Mills. She was born to Eleanor and George O. Hamley, Jr. on April 11, 1945, in Los Angeles, California and passed away suddenly on January 15, 2024, in her home in Merced, California. She grew up in Meadow Grove, Nebraska, graduated from Meadow Grove High School in 1963 and went to Wayne State College to study music where she met her husband, James (Jim) Mills, who was there from North Tonawanda, New York, on a wrestling scholarship. They were born on opposite coasts and met in the middle of the country in Wayne, Nebraska. After 10 years in Broken Bow, Nebraska, they moved to Meadow Grove, Nebraska and then moved to Menominee, Michigan; Calhoun, Georgia; Bowling Green, Kentucky; and Merced, California where they lived for the last 33 years.

Jeannie made friends and touched people everywhere she went. She was a talented pianist, singer, bridge player and the organist for the Meadow Grove United Methodist Church for many years. She was a piano teacher, a bank teller at the Meadow Grove Credit Union and also waitressed. She loved to laugh and would brighten up the room with her cheerful and contagious personality. She was kind and lived her life with an open mind and open heart.

Jeannie is preceded in death by her parents, George and Eleanor Hamley and her baby daughter, Kimberly Jo Mills.

She is survived by her husband of 58 years, Jim Mills; sister, Sandy Carlson; daughter, Teresa (Teri) Cirillo, grandchildren, Justis Cirillo, Izak Cirillo & Lydia Stewart and Aaron Cirillo & Hope Michelson; daughter, Melissa Kelly-Ortega, grandchildren, Nathan Kelly & Jasmine Jimenez, Ellen Kelly & Gerardo Esteva, Sayta Ortega; and great grandchildren, Isabel & Gabriela Esteva. She lived for her family and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren lit up her life.

The memorial service will be held at her hometown church, the United Methodist Church in Meadow Grove, Nebraska followed by services at the McCoy Cemetery on July 20, 2024.