Ken Mills, who was born in Craig County in 1927, celebrated his 90th birthday on April 2, 2017 with his family in Dayton, Ohio. Ken was joined for the weekend by his three daughters, six grandchildren, three great grandchildren and other family members to commemorate the occasion.
Everyone enjoyed a wonderful family weekend that included a wine and cheese tasting at a winery, a family dinner at a favorite restaurant and a special dinner at the Officers Club at Wright Patterson Air Force base where Ken had worked from 1949 to his retirement in 1982. As a finale to the weekend, family members attended a champagne brunch at the home of one of his daughters. Ken enjoyed his 90th birthday weekend and said “It was not only perfect. It it was REALLY perfect.”
Ken spent his youth in Craig County and lived there until he was drafted into service in 1945. Although he learned to fly at Virginia Tech in 1942, he joined the army and was a tank commander during World War II. He was transferred to Wright Field in Ohio as part of the US Army Air Corps and after the war he was employed as a civilian with the Air Force Logistics Command. He worked in various positions on Wright Patterson Air Force base for his entire career until his retirement.
It was very meaningful that his birthday dinner could be held at the base since he had spent so much time there in the service, as a civilian employee and as a member of the Aero Club. Ken has been retired for about 35 years and has put that time to good use.
In addition to spending time with his family he has been busy doing genealogical research (primarily on the Mills, Lafon, Hutchison, Huffman, Sharp, Thomas and related family lines), has been very active in charitable organizations including St. Vincent de Paul, is a member of the Craig County Historical Society, and has enjoyed traveling around the United States and abroad. Ken enjoys getting his copy of the New Castle Record every week so that he can keep current with news from the area.
Ken is proud of his roots in Craig County and tries to return at least twice each year for the Lafon family reunion and the Craig County Fall Festival. He enjoys his trips to Virginia and says it is always good to set foot back in Craig County because it feels like coming home.
-Submitted by Sandra Mills Ketelsen
