Donald Lee Mills, Jr.

 .Donald Lee Mills, Jr. 62 of Huntington, WV passed away on Monday, September 2, 2019 at the Emogene Dolin Hospice House. Visitation will be held on Saturday beginning at 11:30. Family and Friends Remembrance will be held at 12:30 followed by Funeral Liturgy at 1:00 p.m. at Beard Mortuary with Msgr. Dean Borgmeyer officiating. He was born January 31, 1957 in Man, WV. He was preceded in death by his parents Donald L. and Regina Jean Belcher Mills and his beautiful wife, Patricia Ann Parsons-Mills. He is survived by siblings, Scott (Martina) Mills, Kenneth Mills, Roy Mills, Steven (Debbie) Mills, and Joy (Tim) McComas, brothers-in-law, Herbert Parsons and Bobby Parsons and several nieces and nephews. He attended high schools at Oceana, WV, Ward Melville in East Setauket, N.Y., graduating from Ceredo-Kenova in 1976. He graduated from Marshall University with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies and Driver Education in 1980, a Master of Science degree in Management Safety in 1982. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy serving onboard the U.S.S. Texas CGN-39. He retired from the WV Rehabilitation Center in Institute WV where he taught Disabled Driving and was the second person in West Virginia to obtain National and International Certification in his teaching field. In 1995 he received the Distinguished West Virginia Award, in 1996 the West Virginia Rehabilitation Centers Directors Award. He was a member of the Association of Driver Educators for the Disabled and the American Driver Traffic Safety Association. He served as president of the West Virginia Driver and Traffic Safety Association. He was Certified Presenter for Operation Lifesaver, a docent at the Huntington Museum of Art, a member of the Collis P. Huntington National Railway Historical Society where he received the President’s Award and served for seven years as editor of the Gondola Gazette, a past president of the Eastern Kentucky Railway Society where he was responsible for the completion of the Highway Marker Program recognizing this railroad as no other in the country. He was active with Operation Lifesaver along with John Perry, Ira Baldwin, Tom Tackett and Tim Hensley. He was a life-time member of Alpha Phi Omega the National Service Fraternity and was the reorganizing president of Eta Upsilon Chapter at Marshall University. He is a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church. He believed that by serving others, you served God, who through his mercy blesses you.  In lieu of flowers, those who wish may make a donation to the charity of one’s choice. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.beardmortuary.com