Obituary of Willa Lee Mills

Willa Lee Mills, 86, passed away on June 20, 2022 of Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was born July 13, 1935 to Elmer and Grace Coffey in Stamford, Nebraska. Willa graduated from Stamford High School in 1953 as valedictorian and went on to attend Kearney State Teachers College. She also attended the National School of Aeronautics in 1957, and completed the Secretarial Course from the California School of Business in 1964. Her first job was working as a teacher in a one room schoolhouse in Nebraska, but she went on to work for several airlines in Minnesota and California and traveled the world. From there, she worked as a secretary for several engineering companies in Colorado, including Stearns-Roger, where she met her husband David Marion Mills. She continued to work as a secretary for several other businesses, and in 1997 she retired from the Denver Juvenile Court. Willa also studied graphology and loved to knit, read, listen to the radio, tell stories and laugh out loud. She is preceded in death by her husband, David Marion Mills; her parents, Elmer and Grace Coffey; and her brother, William Coffey. She is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth (Greg) Santisteven; son, Roman (Julena) Mills; step-son, David Marion Mills; her grandchildren, Noah and Tayo Santisteven, Ethan and Autumn Mills, and Rachel Spellman; and siblings, Jo Pakkebier, Dan Coffey, Jim Coffey, and Terry Coffey. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the caring staff at Namaste. In lieu of flowers please send memorial contributions in her name to the Namaste Employees Fund. To contribute, please make checks payable to CHI Living Communities, include "EEF Namaste-Willa Mills" in the memo line, and send them to Namaste, 2 Penrose Blvd. Colorado Springs, CO 80906.Graveside service, 11:00AM, Friday, July 8, 2022, at the Fairmount Cemetery on South Quebec Street, Denver, Colorado. Celebration of her life will follow at the house of Willa's niece, Kathy Pakkebier.Willa was a large presence in all of the lives that she touched and she will be dearly missed. Events Graveside Friday, July 8, 2022 11:00AM Fairmount Cemetery 430 South Quebec Denver, CO 80247 Phone: 303-399-0692