Irene Mills

SOUTH PARIS – Irene (Applebee) Mills passed away peacefully at the Maine Veteran’s Home on Sunday, April 30, 2023. Irene was born on Jan. 21, 1937, in Enfield, to her parents, Sylvan and Hazel Applebee. She attended Lee Academy and graduated from Mattawamkaeg High School in Lincoln in 1955.

Irene was only 15 when her father passed away, and just a couple of years later, the family home burned down. Despite these traumatic events, she always saw the glass more than half-full.

While attending Lee Academy, Irene met the love of her life, Sterling Mills. They married in June 1956, and after living in the San Diego area of California where Sterling was stationed in the Navy, the house on Rumford Avenue in Bryant Pond became their home for 50 years.

Over the next four years and four months, the couple became loving parents to Timothy, Tamara, Jeffery and Betsey. Irene was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Everyone enjoyed her homemade baked goods, which included family favorites of bread, yeast rolls, molasses and ginger snap cookies, cream puffs, whoopie pies, apple pies, fried dough, and popovers.

Irene volunteered in her children’s schools and served as a den mother for Boy Scouts and a troop leader for Girl Scouts. She was also active in the Grange and Extension group and cooked for many local organizations events.

Irene possessed a lovely singing voice, which she showcased in church and local area cantatas, performing many “O Holy Night” solos at Christmas time. She sang in several bands while Sterling played his trumpet and was known for her renditions of “Bill Bailey” and “Sentimental Journey”.

Her hobbies included bottle collecting, antiquing, walking with friends, aerobics, sewing beautiful clothes for her family, and knitting sweaters, afghans, and baby blankets. Irene also enjoyed creating arts and crafts, including some drawings, as well as gardening and decorating her homes. She maintained beautiful window boxes and lined the front entry walkway with petunias.

Irene fostered her children’s interests, driving them near and far for dance, ski, piano, and magic lessons. She also attended many of their sports events, music, and drama performances. Irene was instrumental to the family business, Penley and Mills, Inc., running errands, keeping books, and inviting many into her home, offering hospitality to employees and those buying land. In the late 1970s to early 1980s, Irene owned the China Doll Shop and enjoyed attending many doll shows. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she expanded her hospitality by running the family homestead as Field View Bed & Breakfast.

Irene’s love of family ran deep. Her devotion to Sterling never wavered and her love for her four children, their spouses, her grandchildren, and great-grandchildren was unconditional. Her siblings, and extended family — the Applebee, Smith, and Mills relatives— were also a great joy in her life. Irene hosted many happy events at the family cabins on Concord Pond and Lake Christopher. Sterling and Irene also built a home in Garden City Beach, S.C., where they made many friends and were active members of the Belin Methodist Church.

In addition, Irene and Sterling spent many years exploring much of the United States and Canada in their RV. In 2006, they built their retirement home next door to the family homestead, where they enjoyed their final years together.

Irene was predeceased by her beloved husband, Sterling; her siblings, Eugene, Barbara, Sylvia, Melburne, Dona Rae, and Terrence.

She is survived by children, Timothy (Jane) Mills, Tamara (Thomas) Hoy, Jeffery (Tammy) Mills, Betsey (Daniel) Cummings; nine grandchildren, Shane, Jason, Bridget, Carly, Andrew, Olivia, Peter, Ross and Robert; and six great-grandchildren, Jacob, Reginald, Luke, Declan, Stella, and Ashton.

The family extends their thanks to all who cared for Irene in her later years, with a special thank you to the Maine Veteran’s home and its staff for the love, care, and respect given to our mother.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 10, at the Universalist Church, Lakeside Cemetery, 4 Grove St., Bryant Pond at 1 p.m. Arrangements by Cliff Gray Cremation and Funeral Services, 60 Andrews Rd., Bryant Pond.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to:

Maine Veteran’s Home

Attn: Activities

477 High St.

So. Paris, ME 04281

In memory of: Irene Mills

or

Lee Academy

26 Winn Rd.

Lee, ME 04455

In memory of:

Irene Mills Class of 1955