Betty June (Short) Mills, 95, passed away Thursday, July 22, 2021 at Canton Christian Home. She was born July 20, 1926 in Cherry Fork, Ohio, and grew up among the tobacco fields and lush hills of Adams County in southwest Ohio. She was one of 12 in her 1944 graduating class at Cherry Fork School. She worked briefly at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.
She married Edmund E. Mills on Nov. 7, 1946. While Edmund was serving as pastor at Garden City Christian Union Church in Lima, Ohio and Grace Chapel Christian Union Church in Wapokeneta, Ohio, he and Betty responded to a call to the mission field. They served for nearly 12 years in Japan as missionaries. After returning to the states, they eventually settled in North Canton where they spent the last 40 plus years. Betty worked at the Medical Clinic Center in North Canton for 17 years and she retired in 1993. She was a member of the Chapel in North Canton. Family and friends gathered to celebrate her 95th birthday just four days prior to her death. She was blessed to have had such a wonderful celebration with many of those that were most precious to her.
Surviving are her children, Randall Mills of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Pamela (Gerald) Stricker of Cincinnati, Ohio, James (Claire) Mills of Norton, Ohio, and Eric (Lisa) Mills of North Canton, Ohio; 18 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; and eight great-great-grandchildren. Betty was blessed with a large family that she loved so much, far exceeding her expectations as an only child.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Edmund E. Mills who died in 2010 and to whom she was married for over 63 years; her father, Clifton Gulick Short; her mother, Bessie (Storer) Short; one grandchild, Abednego Mills; amd two great-grandchildren, Gabrielle Etter and Amber Hilger.
Funeral Services will be held on Monday, July 26, 2021 at 2 p.m. with Pastor Brannon Marshall officiating at The Chapel in North Canton (715 Whittier Ave. NW, North Canton, 44720). Calling hours will be Monday from 1 – 2 p.m. prior to services at the church. Graveside services will be held on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at 11:45 a.m. at the West Union Cemetery in Tiffin Township, Adams County, Ohio.
Contributions in Betty’s memory may be made to the Assistance Fund at: https://tafcares.org/donors/donate/ an organization that greatly helped with the assistance she received to treat Myasthenia Gravis, a disease she fought to overcome.
