John Mills, 49, of Cape Coral, Florida died peacefully March 5, 2008 at Southwest Regional Medical Center in Florida surrounded by his family and friends after a lengthy illness. John was born in Kountze, Texas on October 6, 1958 to R. Seal and Ethel Mary (Fredrick) Mills. A native of the small community of Pine Ridge for twenty-eight years, he grew up loving the outdoors where he fished the creeks and bayous and hunted every animal he could in the woods around the home his father built. The first love of his life was a sleek navy blue Yamaha 750 motorcycle that he bought and paid for at the age of sixteen. John had many jobs in his lifetime from flagging in the rice fields as a young boy to working as a driller in the oilfields. He ended up in Sayreville, New Jersey working for Gerdau-Ameristeel and following his move to Florida, he was a self-employed crane operator. He was a member of Key Port Matawan New Jersey Elks Lodge.
John is preceded in death by his parents, R. Seal and Ethel Mills; daughter, MJ Mills; sister, Sally Mills; and brother-in-law, Russell Fontenot.
Those left to cherish his memory are his loving wife, Tracey Mills of Cape Coral, Florida; son, John Paul Mills of Pine Ridge; step-daughter, Nicole Masters and husband Ryan of Fort Myers, Florida; brothers, Tommy Mills and wife Lynda of Sour Lake and Warren Mills of Grayburg; sisters, Maxine Pennington and husband Butch of Goodrich, Texas, Evelyn Fontenot of Nome, Theresa Guidry and husband Sherrill of Hemphill, and Darla Floyd and husband John of Grayburg; father-in-law, Ronald Counterman of Fort Myers, Florida; and several nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews, along with a host of family and friends.
Funeral service will be 2:00 p.m. Thursday, March 13, 2008 at Broussard’s, 530 W. Monroe, Kountze with Reverend Butch Perkins officiating. Burial will follow at Pine Ridge Cemetery in Sour Lake. A gathering of family and friends will be from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at the mortuary.
Memorial contributions may be made in John’s memory to Pine Ridge Baptist Church Building Fund or Cemetery Beautification Association, P.O. Box 568, Kountze, Texas 77625.
