NANCY JOANN MILLS (WILLIS)

7/17/43 - 9/20/26

Raise a glass (box wine preferred) and join us in celebrating the life of NANCY JOANN (WILLIS) MILLS.  Nancy was born in Santa Monica, California, in 1943.  This princess in the Miss Canoga Park court went on to marry her high school sweetheart, Mike, in 1963.  The young couple hop-skipped around the country on the Navy’s dime with three children in tow.  Nancy made each new location a home and could always be found volunteering in the classroom, sewing school clothes, and making the house kid-central for the neighborhood.

One word that truly defined Nancy was, “empathy,” and she couldn’t imagine not stepping in to help. This included getting her Nursing License in 1974 - leading to her working in the San Diego Birthing Center - and then going back to school to become a Registered Nurse in 1990 and providing hospice and crisis care for the terminally ill and their families.  

When she found a quiet moment or two in the day, her passions were sewing, gardening, exploring what spirituality meant for her, and people.  Her craft room was always full of fabric for special outfits or quilts for loved ones.  She learned from her mom and passed it along to her granddaughters. She loved to get her hands in the dirt, even if it meant just pulling weeds.  She could grow some truly immense zucchini.  Her spiritualism may have started with her own mom’s astrology charts, but Nancy knew there was more to life - more connection, more purpose, and more meaning.  

Nancy made everyone feel like family.  Busboys, cashiers, strangers, receptionists, customers in line, …  She always had a smile.  She was truly interested in your day and wanted you to know that she liked your shirt.  She wanted to know the story of your tattoo. Kids loved to sit with her and explain their favorite toy. 

Nancy passed away peacefully on September 20th in her sleep. She is survived by her brother, her husband, and her three children.  She is also survived by those who called her, “Grammy,” - her most beloved seven grandchildren and two amazing great grandchildren (with one more on the way). She will also be missed by the countless friends and strangers whose lives she has touched along the way. 

You are all, absolutely, a member of the family.