Joe was born December 20, 1976 in Greenville, Ohio to Mark and Sue (Myers) Mills. He was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy- a form of Muscular Dystrophy- at nine months old. In spite of a shortened life expectancy, Joe flourished and proved the doctors wrong thanks to 38 years of exceptional caregiving by his biggest supporter-his Mom. Joe attended Gorman School in Dayton through fifth grade before moving to Arcanum Public School to complete High School, graduating in the top 10% of his class. He went on to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems at Wright State University in 2000. He was a software engineer for LexusNexus for eight years. Joe loved sports, especially Red baseball, and Bengals and Ohio State football. His last big outing was planning a trip for many family members to watch the buckeyes beat Wisconsin for the Big 10 Title. Joe was also a fantastic uncle and enjoyed spoiling and joking with his seven nieces and nephews.
Joe is survived by his parents, Mark and Sue (Myers) Mills of Arcanum; sister, Julie (Chuck) Edmonson of Springboro; brother, Jeff (Van) Mills of Blue Ash; nieces, Jada and Jasmyn Edmonson and nephews, Jared, Jase, Jaxson, Jacoby Edmonson and Ridley Mills. Joe also shared a special loving friendship with his first cousin, Karla (Schneider) Guinigundo of West Chester. He is also survived by many aunts, uncles, and cousins who he loved to tease and beat at card games. He is preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, George (Joe) and Arline (Myers) Mills of Gordon and maternal grandparents, Donald and Evaline (Snyder) Myers of Arcanum.
Visitation will be Friday January 2, 2015 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Zechar Bailey Funeral Home, Greenville, Ohio. Services will be at 10:30 AM on Saturday January 3, 2015 at Beechwood Golf Course 1476 State Route 503, Arcanum, Ohio with interment following in Ithaca Cemetery. Per Joe’s wishes, please wear casual attire on Saturday-OSU, Bengals, or Reds gear, if you prefer. A party to celebrate Joe’s life will be held at Beechwood after the burial.
Memorial contributions may be mad in Joe’s name to the Muscular Dystrophy Association or a charity of your choice.
Condolences for the family may be expressed through www.zecharbailey.com
