Dennis Clayton Mills Obituary
Memorial Open House will be held at his parent' home, 2270 Wilmington Drive, Conway, AR, from 3 to 6 pm on Monday, February 17, 2020. Dennis Clayton Mills, 46, passed away in the quiet of home on Monday, February 10th, 2020 in Conway, Arkansas, sixteen days shy of his birthday, following a protracted illness with intimal-sarcoma.
He is now worshiping Jesus in. His very presence. Dennis, called Clay until he demanded greater formality at age 7, was born on February 26, 1973, in Topeka, Kansas, sharing a birthday with his grandmother Norma James. After a few months charming his folks, the family transferred to Ft Walton Beach, Florida, then Las Vegas, Nevada, spending his earliest childhood enjoying Star Wars figurines, baseball cards, and lame jokes.
His sisters Joy Anne and Mintha Sue invaded his space permanently in 1980 and 1982 respectively. Further complicating his story, the Air Force took Dennis and family to rural Misawa, Japan, one of the safest, prettiest, and snowiest places in the world. Dennis spent the next decade enjoying Japanese language and festivals, learning martial arts, and actively participating in adult Bible studies and memorization projects.
His tastes for math, astronomy, programming, Shakespeare, and science fiction were solidified in Misawa. He graduated from Robert D. Edgren High School, the base high school, in 1993 and University of Maryland in 1994. He remained in Misawa until he was no longer a legal dependent and was required by the Air Force to move to the States against absolutely everyone's wishes.
Later in life his love for numbers and computing led him to earn a Bachelor and Master degrees in Accounting. Using the alternative licensing program, he earned his Arkansas teacher's license and was certified in Math and Business Applications. Rather than recount all towns and jobs Dennis had since then, be you content with this summary: Most of his happiest days were in his 20s in Nashville, Tennessee, when he was an active member and volunteer of The Church@Hickory Hollow, which hardly noticed what an oddball he was.
During this time, he discovered European-style board gaming, convincing his sisters and brother-in-law of the delights of tiny tokens moving around in complicated patterns. His parents were considerably less convinced. He also occasionally attempted to persuade women to date him, but he wasn't any good at it. Instead, the flexibility of being single allowed him to try multiple career paths until he realized he was skilled at teaching high school math.
Moving to Conway, Arkansas, in 2017, he found that same kind of accepting support in his colleagues at Joe T. Robinson High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. They first noticed how unwell he was, and they extended his life by urging him to seek medical treatment, revealing his cancer in 2019. Dennis could worship with any congregation.
He loved to be generous to both strangers and family, and to show up unannounced to help. Nothing pleased him more than to be the volunteer you didn't expect. Dennis was a dedicated advocate of blood donation, sometimes maxing out the yearly number of pints the American Red Cross permitted from a single donor. Discovering a flair for crochet in his 30s, Dennis invented most of the patterns he made, and donated his skills to making lap afghans for the Wounded Warrior Project.
He never outgrew lame jokes, although they did grow more sophisticated after he studied The Far Side . He rarely complained, even when in frustration, pain, or isolation, none of which he is experiencing now. Dennis is preceded in death by his grandparents Noel and Jenny Mills, and his grandfather Jesse James. Dennis is survived by his parents Timothy and Carol Mills, sister and brother-in-law Joy and Jason Holmes, nephew Courage Holmes, sister Mintha Mills, grandmother Norma James, and uncounted aunts, uncles, and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Four Winds Church 2005 Dave Ward Drive, Conway, AR 72034 or to the Go Fund Me account (https://tinyurl.com) to help the family with final expenses. A memorial open house will be held at his parents' home, 2270 Wilmington Drive, Conway, AR from 3 to 6 pm on Monday, February 17th.
