James Christie Mills

James Christie Mills

High Point

James Christie Mills, 90, of High Point, passed away Monday, March 13, 2017, at The Shannon Gray Rehabilitation & Recovery Center in Jamestown.

Born December 21, 1926, in Jacksonville, Florida, he was a son of the late Charles Sims Mills Sr., and the late Pearl Mason Mills. Mr. Mills was a retired electronics and radio communications engineer with Philco.

Mr. Mills served in the U.S. Navy as a Second Class Petty Officer and Aviation Electronic Technician’s Mate Second Class from 1944 to 1946. He joined Philco Corporation in 1950, working in Guam; Japan; Houston, Texas; and Palo Alto, California. With Philco, Mr. Mills worked for the U.S. Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was the payload supervisor for the 1960 launch of the Courier 1B, the world's first active repeater communications satellite. He also was a supervising engineer at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Mills was predeceased by his wife, Mary Thomas Mills; and two brothers, Charles S. Mills Jr. of Winston-Salem and Theodore M. Mills of Buffalo, New York.

He is survived by sisters-in-law, Mary Jane Mills of Buffalo, New York, Katherine Kellogg of Pfafftown and Edna Marshall of Garner; nephews, Charles Mills III of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Kenneth Mills of Wenatchee, Washington, Michael Mills of Clemmons, Duncan Mills of Buffalo, New York, Peter Mills of Bedford Hills, New York, Charles Thomas Jr. of Raleigh and Theodore Kellogg Jr. of Advance; nieces, Sarah Jane Cooper of Mount Shasta, California, Phyllis Green of Stokesdale, Sherry Thomas of Garner, Dr. Cynthia Bolton of Summerfield and Karen Soderstrom of Cramerton; longtime dear friends, Mary Anne Greene of Brunswick, Georgia, Patrick and Mary Anne Lesiak of Brunswick, Georgia, Anastasia Kaluzienski of Rockville, Maryland, Robert and Amy Storer of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Robert and Gwynn Tyree of Cumming, Georgia, and special caregiver for the past seven years, Jeanette McLean of High Point.

Mr. Mills was a beloved uncle and godparent with a witty sense of humor. He and Mary loved camping, nature and Friday night martinis. He also enjoyed piloting his small plane and debating politics.

A memorial service will be conducted at 2:00 PM on Saturday, April 1, 2017, in the Gathering Room of Wright Cremation & Funeral Service in High Point.

The family will receive friends following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Salvation Army, 301 West Green Drive, High Point, NC 27260, Holy Angels, PO Box 710, Belmont, NC 28012, or Hospice of the Piedmont, 1801 Westchester Drive, High Point, NC 27262. Memorials may also be made online at give.salvationarmyusa.org, holyangelsnc.org or hospiceofthepiedmont.org.

Condolences may be expressed online at www.wrightcremationandfuneral.com.