Vincent Mills (1933-2022)

MILLS, EVANS, WORRAL, MARSDEN, CRAWFORD, GREENE

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 8/23/2022 at 19:31:28

Vincent Mills, 89, passed away on Aug. 2, 2022, at Cottage Grove Health Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Vincent was a longtime resident of the Cedar Rapids-Marion area, having emigrated from Britain in 1965. A Celebration of Life will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 25 at Indian Creek Nature Center, 5300 Otis Rd. SE. The only child of Edward Evans Mills and Alice Worrall, Vincent was born in Oldham, (Manchester) England, on Feb. 21, 1933, and was baptized and raised in the Church of England. The War Years dominated his childhood, but the optimistic spirit of the Industrial North of England was something he carried throughout his education, work and personal life. Following grammar school, he enrolled at the Manchester Institute of Technology. He did so while also working as a bound apprentice (five years) at Mather and Platt, Ltd. At age 21 he was inducted into the Royal Navy, where he served four months before being invalided out due to an adverse reaction to an inoculation for black water fever. After recovering, he went to work at Dexine Rubber and Ebonite, eventually becoming a journeyman. In 1955, Vincent married Jean Marsden (Hulme). They were to have two children together: Nicholas in 1961 and St. John in 1963. In 1961, Vincent joined Benger Laboratories, where his professional career began to take shape. He had the good fortune of working with three older gentlemen - Mike Alsop, Ken Merton, and Keith Gregory - all of whom took an interest in guiding young Vincent’s development. Thriving under their leadership, Vincent found this to be a great time in his life. Long work days began and ended with the four men riding home on the train, playing bridge and telling stories. (Later, beginning in the 1980s, his wife Rachel arranged several reunions with his early mentors, which Vince relished and often re-lived in his twilight years. Fortunate witnesses to these reunions recall falling off chairs and rolling on the floor in laughter, hearing the four wacky Brits together, telling stories in good-natured camaraderie.) Vincent received his Chemical Engineering Degree from Manchester University in 1961, continuing his career at L.A. Mitchell Engineering. There his learning was applied to both food and pharmacological technology. He then joined the Libby Company, a U.S. based entity with offices in the U.K. In 1965, Vincent and Jean moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, accepting a job with Cherry-Burrell (now Evergreen) where he was to remain as a valued employee for 33 years. Vincent’s years at Cherry-Burrell were centered on engineering design of sanitary equipment used in the food processing industry. He was known internationally and in this country for his knowledge on that subject, and years of service to national and international sanitary standards groups. Organizations with which he was associated are 3-A Sanitary Standards and the Dairy & Food Industry Standards Assoc. (Vincent served as a 3-A administrator for two years following retirement.) Locally, Vincent’s interests lay in service to, and participation in Grace and Christ Episcopal Churches (serving as senior warden in both), enjoying golf and tennis at Indian Creek Country Club in Marion, singing in church choirs, and serving as a member of the Scottish Rite. He joined the Thursday Noon Optimist Club in 2000. Vincent was granted U.S. citizenship in 1990. Music came to lead the list of his interests as the years went by. Vincent’s interest in music was to prove fortuitous. In 1978, following his divorce from Jean, he would meet his wife of 43 years, Rachel Crawford (Greene), who was working for the Cedar Rapids Symphony (now Orchestra Iowa). After some coaxing from mutual friends, Vince invited her out on a date, and the rest, as they say, is history. A short courting period, conducted between Vincent’s frequent transatlantic trips, involved many long romantic dinners at local restaurants (Velvet Feedbag, Charlie’s On the River) and lunches at Osgood Shepherd’s They married in February of 1979, and committed to the rigors of guiding a blended family. Vince loved his new children, Vincent and Virginia Greene, as if they were his own. Vincent was always welcoming to their father, Galen Greene as a helper and friend. A broad international flavor was enjoyed in the Forest Drive SE home, as visitors and students were welcomed for long stays. International students coming for academic years remained friends of the family, and Vincent took delight in visits from them, and to them. After those years, opera cast members and orchestra players regularly found themselves in the hands of the Mills. The loves of Vincent’s life were playing rugby, choral and symphonic music, literature, opera, red wine, limericks, British humor, gardening, dachshunds, and gatherings of friends. The last 10 years of his life were supported by his worship and fellowship companions in Veronica’s House. Left to celebrate his memory are Nicholas Mills (Amy), Northville, Mich., St. John Mills (Gina), Phoenix, Ariz.; stepchildren, Vincent Greene (Carrie), Baltimore, Md., Virginia (Ginny) Greene-Hanna (Brian), wife Rachel Crawford Mills and former wife, Jean Hulme; grandchildren, David Mills, Phoenix, Ariz., and Christopher Mills, Phoenix, Ariz. and stepgrandchildren, Nathan Greene, Baltimore, Md., and Laird Hanna, Marion, Iowa. The family sends thanks for loving healthcare by all those who saw Vincent through the final years of dementia and declining health. These include MercyHomeCare, Mercy Hospital, Mercy Caregivers Center, Bickford Home Health, Bickford of Marion, and Cottage Grove Health Center; Dr. Casey Boyles and Dr. Jonathan Rippentrop. Memorials may be made to Orchestra Iowa, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, or charity of personal choice. www.IowaCremation.com.