Naola Mae Mills

Mothers and grandmothers fill a special role in our lives, raising families, providing strength during times of need, and ensuring continued growth from one generation to the next. Naola Mills was this kind of person and more. In guiding her children at home and school, and being her grandchildren's most faithful supporter, Naola gave to us the love of a mother and grandmother. She also opened up this love to friends and aquaintances. But we are not born parents nor grandparents. Naola was born on October 26, 1924, the youngest of four children (Muriel, Max, Sonny) to Lawrence and Lillian (Huffman) Loss of Muskegon, Michigan. At the beginning of the Great Depression, when Naola was only five years old, she suffered the loss of her father. Naola was a talented singer as a child. When she was only eight or nine years of age, she was given radio spots on WKBZ. She was known as " Muskegon's Shirley Temple." Even though there were good things as well as bad during Naola's early years, she did not have an easy childhood. She never let that be a reason to make excuses for herself. Naola continued on to educate herself, reading fine literature and historical novels. At the age of fifteen, Naola left the tenth grade and moved to live on her own near downtown Muskegon. She took on house cleaning jobs to support herself. After her mother contracted tuberculosis and moved to the sanitarium, Naola would take the bus to visit her on the weekends, and eventually became a patient there as well. Her brothers and sister had scattered across the country. Muriel moved to Montana, but the sisters remained close, with visits every year or so. As Naola studied accounting at Muskegon Business College and found work as a clerk for Muskegon Hardware, Herbert E. Mills came south from Canada looking for work. During these depression years, when people could not afford to paint their houses, Herbert decided to launch a house washing business. He hustled up enough work for two crews. One day, he discovered a beautiful girl living as a tenant in the house he was washing. They met and began dating. Naola, age 19, told her parents that Herb was 25 when he was really 31! Herb and Naola fell in love and were married the same year that he joined the U.S. Army Air Corp. Herb was originally stationed at Scott Field, Illinois, but soon received a transfer to Columbia, South Carolina, where, in 1946, their eldest son, Bill, was born. After Herb was out of the service, they looked around for a place to live and heard that Canada was offering 50 acres to any nationals willing to settle the wilderness. So Herb, Naola, and baby left Michigan and headed up to Canada. They hiked back to their property and lived in a tent while building the first of several cabins, before Herb laid the road leading to their camp. Their sons, Tom and Dave, were born in 1948 and 1950. As the wilderness became popular, Naola and Herb ran a resort for people to enjoy the great outdoors. Naola was responsible for all the cooking and cleaning. There was never any running water, but eventually electricity was brought out to the property. The boys attended a one room schoolhouse three miles away, which had to be traversed in ten feet of snow in winter. They vividly remember the horse-drawn sleighs carrying huge blocks of ice from the frozen lake, which were stored for use in the ice boxes all year long. Naola and Herb eventually decided that their boys were being deprived of a good education while living there, so they returned to Muskegon, in 1954. Shortly after returning, the twins, Jim and Dan, were born. Five years later, in 1960, Jack arrived - son number six! Herb found a job as a contractor while Naola kept the books, the house, and their brood of boys. Naola was very involved in their boys' lives, from PTA meetings to Band Parents. Each of the boys at some point worked in the construction business with their father. The family lived in a number of different homes over the years, and eventually moved to a cottage on Little Silver Lake, in Twin Lake, Michigan. The hope was that their home at the lake would always be a place their boys and families would want to return to and call home, and they did! The entire family loved spending time there. Naola and Herb enjoyed many happy years there together, and were always truly interested and involved in the growth and development of their sons. Naola provided a special love and compassion that will remain in the hearts of all those who knew her. She was preceded in death by her husband, Herbert E Mills, who succumbed to cancer in 1988. She is survived by William H. Mills (Sue) of San Diego, California; Thomas L. Mills (Pam), of Melbourne Beach, Florida; David J. Mills (Laurie), of Muskegon, Michigan; James A. Mills (Jane), of Austin, Texas; Daniel B. Mills (Michelle), of Muskegon, Michigan; and Jack D. Bressette-Mills (Barbara), of Austin, Texas. Also among Naola's survivors are seven grandchildren: Alyson Foster, Steven Mills, Carl Mills, Matthew Mills, Richard Mills, Eric Mills, Taylor Mills; and two great grandchildren: Ansley Kate Foster, and Owen Thomas Foster.