Elizabeth (known to her family and friends as “Beth”) Frances Douglas Mills, a former long-time resident of Montclair, New Jersey, died on Monday, March 13, 2017 five days short of her 102nd birthday at Victoria Home in Ossining, New Jersey. She was the oldest daughter of Frederick W. Douglas, Sr. and Arrie Nickens Douglas. The family included her older brother, Fred; younger brother, Norbert; and younger sisters, Eleanor and Arrie. She, as well as all of her siblings, attended Montclair Public Schools. After high school, Beth worked at Westinghouse until her retirement at the age of 65. Beth did not just sit around during her retirement. Initially, she worked as a teacher’s aide in the Montclair Public Schools serving at Glenfield, Mount Hebron and Watchung schools. While at this job, she started taking college courses for own her enrichment and to satisfy a long postponed yearning for college. After a few years, Beth matriculated in the degree program as an English major. She graduated from Bloomfield College at the age of 75 and was included on the National Dean’s List. The entire Douglas family celebrated and was very proud of Beth’s accomplishment! Three generations of Beth’s family have been members of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. She was a founding member of the Club Darmears in 1951. Beth was married to Julius Mills until their divorce. They had one daughter, Betty Jane. Beth is predeceased by: her brothers, Frederick and Norbert Douglas; her sisters, Arrie Douglas Ford and Eleanor Douglas Nielsen; and niece, Joan Tibbs Eldridge. She leaves to mourn her death her nieces, Elaine Douglas, Gloria Douglas Holt, Sharon Douglas; and nephews, Bruce Ford and Alan Douglas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St Mark’s Church.
Bette Jane Douglas Mills – known in her youth as BJ and as an adult as Bette – died unexpectedly April 10, 2017 on her cherished houseboat in New Rochelle, NY. Like other generations of the Douglas family, she was raised in Montclair, NJ and enjoyed the many benefits of being part of a loving extended family. Even though she was her parents’ only child, she effectively had 2 “brothers” and 5 “sisters” in the other Douglas cousins. She reveled in spending time with her cousins…especially during the summer breaks from school at the home of her aunt and uncle. After graduating from Montclair High School in 1962 and completing her undergraduate studies, BJ went to the University of Maryland in College Park earning a PhD in psychology. Her dissertation was titled “Racism as a Psychosocial Stimulus and its Effects on Afro-Americans.“ She then did an internship at the Astor Services for Children and Families in Rhinebeck, NY where the motto is “because every child deserves a childhood.” She so impressed the faculty and staff, that she was eventually hired by them to work in their clinic in the Bronx. There, she was admired by her colleagues for her ability to not only help her patients, but also for her ability to relate to them. BJ continued her passion for helping children in her last position as a school psychologist in the New York Public Schools where she was again based in the Bronx. Her duties there were expanded to include dealing with legal issues faced by some of her students. She retired from the New York School Public School system a few years ago. In the last years of her life, BJ pursued another passion – Buddhism. Her initial goal was to become a Buddhist nun, but she eventually desired to become a monk. A process that would took many years and involved being apart from the family that she loved so much. She was very excited at the prospect of being ordained this summer.
When she called her cousins and Aunt Louise in March to tell them that her mother had died, she expressed gratitude at the prospect of being with family again for the celebration of her mother’s life that was to occur in the late spring or early summer. Sadly, the family will gather to celebrate the lives of BJ and her mother. While they both lived full and productive lives, the family looked forward to being with BJ and not just with her spirit. BJ is predeceased by her mother, Elizabeth Frances Douglas Mills, her father Julius Mills, her uncles Frederick and Norbert Douglas and aunts Daisy Booker Douglas, Arrie Douglas Ford, and Eleanor Douglas Nielsen and cousin Joan Tibbs Eldridge. On the Mills side of the family, she is predeceased by her aunts Mamie Mills Williams, Arzela Mills Gordon, Lottie Mills Stevens and uncle Robert Mills. She leaves to mourn not only the extended Douglas family that she grew up with that includes her aunt Louise Fleming Douglas and cousins Elaine, Alan and Sharon Douglas, Gloria Douglas Holt, Bruce Ford, and Myrtle Theresa Hodges Jones but also a vast Mills family that got to know BJ from her teenage years through adulthood that includes siblings Peter Mills and Julia Mills Guzman and cousin Nancy Wood Sargent. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Astor Services for Children and Families at www.astorservices.org. Elizabeth and BJ will be interred at a family plot at Mt. Hebron Cemetery in Montclair, NJ later this Summer.
Reverend Jevon A. Caldwell-Gross, Officiating Musical Prelude................................................................................................. Processional................................................. The Clergy Officials & The Family Words of Grace and Greetings......................Reverend Jevon A. Caldwell-Gross Hymn........................................................................“Blessed Assurance” - 369 Prayer of Comfort.............................................................................................. Scripture Reading.............................................................................................. Old Testament.................................................................................... (Readers) New Testament................................................................................... (Readers) Selection..........................................................“Just A Closer Walk With Thee” Remembrances From The Family....................................................................... The Life Reflection............................................................................................ Words of Remembrance.................................................................................... Hymn............................................................................ “Amazing Grace” - 378 Eulogy..........................................................Reverend Jevon A. Caldwell-Gross Closing Hymn............................................................................ “I’ll Fly Away”
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