William Stephen Mills

William Stephen "Steve" Mills, 93, long time resident of Hamilton, peacefully passed away June 29 at the Hillside Manor in Missoula, of natural causes. He enjoyed a long and exceptional life. A proud American, he was a bomber pilot, firefighter, homebuilder and Montana rancher.

Steve was born in Riverside, California on February 7, 1923, the son of Robb S. and Virginia Mills. He graduated from Riverside Poly High School in 1940 and attended Riverside City College until he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942.

Steve trained as a pilot. Upon graduation from flight training he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to Bombardier Training School in New Mexico piloting the AT-11 aircraft used to train bombardier students. In 1944 he was assigned to B-17 school in preparation for assignment to the European Theater. At graduation, Steve and seven other pilots were selected to go instead to El Paso, TX to train in the then new B-29 Superfortress bomber. Steve was an exceptional pilot and was the first in his class to solo in the B-29. He also felt that he may have been the youngest B-29 Aircraft Commander in WWII. He and his crew completed training together in June 1945 when Steve was just 22 years old. They had orders to go to Tinian Island in the Pacific to join the 58th Bomb Group.  However, before leaving, the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. His orders were first delayed and then cancelled due to the end of the war.

After he left the service, Steve became a Los Angeles City Fireman serving from 1946 until his retirement in 1971. He loved the LAFD and never had a day where he didn't look forward to working there. He helped fight some of the biggest fires in Los Angeles in the last century. He also had some pretty good stories of all the pranks pulled in the firehouse! Steve married Betty Mays and together they had three sons: Steve, Craig and Scott. While on the LAFD, Steve became a general contractor and built homes and apartments with his long-time friend, George Varnum.

In 1966 he married JoAnn Evans McLaughlin and added her three children Lynn, Kevin and Julie to the family. When Steve was just a senior in high school he knew the two things he wanted to be in his life, a pilot and a rancher. In 1971 his second goal was reached when he and JoAnn, along with Lynn, Kevin and Julie, moved to their dream ranch in Charlos Heights. Steve embraced this rural lifestyle, hunting and fishing, raising livestock, gardening, and spending lots of time on his tractor. His grandkids thought his name actually was "Papa Tractor" for a while, and he was generous in giving them rides.

In 1974, Steve threw his hat into the political arena and came close to winning a seat in the MT State Senate. He sat on the board for the Farm Bureau and was a member of the Assembly of God Church for near 40 years.   He was an honorable and God loving man.

In their "retirement" years, Steve and JoAnn enjoyed traveling, taking several cruises and often hooking up the RV for long jaunts. They travelled to 47 states that way, making new friends and keeping up with their old ones. Their theme song was "On the Road Again". The 'Montana' grandkids have fond memories of summer vacations travelling with Papa and Grandma in the RV.

Steve spent the last few years in Missoula, making new friends at 'The Springs', and more recently at 'The Village Health Care' and finally 'Hillside Manor'. He was preceded in death by his wife JoAnn, his sister Vivian Martin, and his parents. He is very much loved and will be missed by many, but especially by his children Steve (Ellise) Mills of Aptos CA, Craig (Anita) Mills of Sacramento CA, Scott (Lisa) Mills of Carbondale, CO, Mildred “Lynn” McLaughlin of Missoula, MT, Kevin (Jana) McLaughlin of Weatherford, TX, Julie (Jeff) Huls of Corvallis, MT, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

A committal service will take place at 10:00 a.m. Monday, July 11 at Riverview Cemetery in Hamilton with a memorial service to follow at 11:00 a.m. at the Hamilton Assembly of God Church with Pastors John Weaver and David Delgatty officiating.  Arrangements are under the care of the Daly-Leach Chapel in Hamilton.

The family suggests donations to Hospice of Missoula and thanks them for their tender care.