Obituary of Richard Mills

Richard "CornFed" Mills July 22, 1955 - June 11, 2018 Resident of Santa Cruz On Monday, June 11, 2018 Richard ''CornFed'' Mills passed away surrounded by his family after a long fight with cancer at the age of 62. He was born in National City, CA on July 22, 1955 to Robert Massey Mills & Dorothy Mildred Stewart. They later moved to Willits, CA. He moved to Santa Cruz, CA at the age of 16 where he started his long career as a logger setting chokers. Richard met the love of his life, Kathleen Kalahiki, in 1980. On June 12, 1982 they wed at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a proud daddy to his kids, Natasha and Travis Mills, and Father In-Law to LCpl Kevin Van Meter USMC. He is papa to his 3 grandsons: Casey Kai, soon to be 13, was born 50 years and 4 days apart from his papa. Being the first grandson he held a special place in his papa's heart. Colt Kaiawe (3) who acts like his papa (Lord help us all) and Jaxon Richard (1) who not only was blessed with his papa's name but got his looks too. He loved spending time with his nieces, nephews, sister & brother in-laws just shooting the breeze. He also loved visits from his 5 sisters and the company of his friends. Richard was one of a kind, and a real man's man. He had a rugged exterior and a vocabulary of his own. He had a heart of gold and would give you the shirt off his back. He loved to spend his time outdoors fishing for the big one or fiddle farting around with one of his new inventions. He could tell a story that would keep you in stitches no matter how many times you've heard it. Richard's career with Davey Tree and passion for climbing trees along side of his climbing brothers sadly had to end in 2009 due to his battle. He would often say "I would give anything to climb that one last tree." Heaven has gained a tough one. Please join us to celebrate Richard's life on Saturday, June 16, 2018 from 3:30 til 7 PM at the family home at 107 Reno Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. BYOB.