Gloria Darlene Mills '70

---

Gloria Darlene Mills '70, passed away peacefully on April 28 in Austin, Texas, after a short stay in hospice. She was 74.

On learning of Mills' untimely passing, those who knew her paid tribute:

"Gloria was such a warm and loving person. She had the most beautiful smile that lit up a room."

"She was so intelligent and knowledgeable and had such poise and grace."

"Gloria was such a wonderful person and will be missed."

"Gloria was such a lovely person, and I feel so lucky to have met her."

"Gloria was such a beautiful ray of sunshine…She was just a beautiful lady and we are honored to have [called] her friend."

Mills was born Feb. 20, 1948, to Edmundo and Dolores Gonzalez in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from Venice High School in 1966, attended UCLA, where she received her B.A. in sociology. She went on to a storied 40-year professional life as executive director/coordinator of many nonprofit organizations around the country providing social and human services. These included Connecticut Association for Community Transportation (CACT) and VNA Health Care, Inc., both in Hartford, Connecticut; Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Metro Cleveland (AMI), Institute for Child Advocacy (ICA) and Cleveland International Volunteer Organization (CIVO), all in Cleveland, Ohio; Developmental Disabilities Advocacy Network (DDAN) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; American Heart Association in State College, Pennsylvania; Washtenaw Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Sunland Training Center in Gainesville Florida.

She also volunteered for many different non-profit organizations, including AARP, Poor People’s Campaign, Granby Community Fund, Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board, ARC Trustee, Cuyahoga County Board of MR/DD Provider Task Force, Federation for Community Planning Continuum Care Committee Chair, Ohio DHS Monitoring Committee, NE Ohio Developmental Center Citizen’s Advocacy Committee, Pennsylvania Department of Education Task force for Developmental Guidelines, and PA Centre County
Advisory Board.

Mills is survived by her husband of 52 years, Wendell Mills; sister, Margarita Gonzalez; niece, Anne Creasey (Robert Creasey); grandniece, Gabriela Creasey; grandnephew, Jacob Creasey; aunt, Romelia Portillo; and dozens of loving cousins. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, and her nephew, Jeff Raigoza.

Mills' favorite charities were Planned Parenthood and Doctors Without Borders and she would be honored to have donations to either of these in lieu of flowers.

At her request, Mills is being cremated by The Neptune Society with her ashes scattered over the Pacific Ocean near the area where she grew up with a wonderful, loving family. A memorial is in the planning stage.