Having done what she could do to make this world a better place than she found it, Mary V. Mills went home to God on Friday, August 1, 2008.\r\nMary Virginia Howie was born on July 26, 1920, in Chippewa Falls, WI, to Will and Virginia Howie. The family moved to Eau Claire when Mary was about 11, a hard transition for a girl who was very shy. But with the aid of some friends she soon made, Mary became more outgoing.\r\nAfter graduating from Eau Claire Senior High, Mary went to work to help her family doing secretarial work for several businesses and law firms. She remembered being once called in from a day off to find some papers for a bemused employer who told her, "Mary, I think your unique filing system made you indispensable around here."\r\nMuch of her life centered around her faith. She sang in the Christ Church Episcopal Choir for 50 years, and was also a long-time member of both the Altar Guild and the Episcopal Church Women, once serving as Diocese Chairwoman of the latter group. More recently, she had knit booties for babies baptized in the Cathedral. It was in the church that her future husband first saw her, asking his mother "Who is that angel up in the choir?"\r\nMary was united in marriage to J. Robert "Bob" Mills on July 17, 1948. She excelled as a caregiver, raising five children as well as being one of the neighborhood "substitute moms" for any children whose parents were temporarily away. She also regularly prepared enormous Sunday and Holiday meals for her family as well as her mother, aunts, and other relatives and friends.\r\nShe learned to drive in her 40's, so that she could take a turn in school carpools as well as driving her children to their extracurricular activities. She would sometimes reminisce about a Saturday when she drove from Eau Claire to Durand for a debate tournament in the afternoon and from Durand to Rhinelander for an evening basketball game before returning to Eau Claire - all in a snowstorm.\r\nMary loved to laugh and didn't mind if the laughs were "on her," whether it was telling about an afternoon joke that she "got" late that night, or from dressing up as a hideous witch for Halloween. She did volunteer work for food pantries, the Red Cross, and scouting programs of both genders. Her joys included growing flowers and arranging bouquets, traveling, baking, bowling, golfing, vacationing at area lake resorts, watching horse races, cheering for the Packers, and holding and playing with babies.\r\nShe quit smoking cold turkey, lost weight with the help of TOPS, beat three forms of cancer, and overcame both a serious back injury and a broken hip. "I can be stubborn," she acknowledged.\r\nMary's personality will be greatly missed. Whether she was offering to race down the hallway with her walker, leading a chorus of "Cherries are Ripe," or telling the Minnesota Vikings to "Go home, soak your heads, and go to bed," "Mamie" was one of a kind. But the lessons she taught and the good works she did will continue to make her presence felt.\r\nMary is survived by her five children, Bill, of Eau Claire, Carole of Chicago, Dave (Marie) of Cameron, Judy (Dave) Ohm of Madison, and Paul of Columbia City, IN; eight grandchildren; one great grandchild; a sister, Jan Berman of Cedarhurst, NY; a cousin, Jane Billyeuld of Bloomington, IN; a sister-in-law, Mary Howie of Eau Claire; numerous other relatives including Ruth Lehman of Eau Claire; and many friends all across the country.\r\nShe was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and her brother, Warren Howie.\r\nThe family especially wants to thank the very caring staff at Our House Memory Care in Eau Claire and the people of St. Joseph's Hospital Hospice.\r\nThe family requests memorials be directed to the elevator fund at Christ Church Cathedral, 510 S. Farwell St., Eau Claire, WI 54701.\r\nFuneral services will be held at 11 a.m., Thursday, August 7, 2008, at Christ Church Cathedral with The Very Rev'd Robert L. Rademaker officiating. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery, Eau Claire. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m., Wednesday at Lenmark-Gomsrud-Linn Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service Thursday at church.

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