Frederic Newton Millen, 90
Frederic Newton Millen, 90, of Austin, Texas, in his sleep on Friday, Oct. 31, 2008.
Born on June 26, 1918 in Bryan, Texas, to Frederic Hartwell Millen and Mabel Gertrude Beckley Millen, Newt grew up in Pompton Lakes, N.J., graduating from high school in 1934 and serving afterward in the Civilian Conservation Corps in New Jersey and Utah. He entered the U.S. Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet program in 1941.
As a pilot, Newt served in the Antisubmarine Command and in the Pacific Theater in World War II. He was in the Air Force Reserve between World War II and the Korean War, and was recalled to active duty in the Strategic Air Command, Alaskan Command, Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff, and the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency at the Pentagon. He retired as a colonel in 1969.
During active duty, he graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. After his Air Force retirement, he received his J.D. from University of Texas Law School at Austin in 1975 and entered solo civil law practice. He was a hearing examiner for the Texas Department of Health from 1978-1981, and retired in 1988 as chief of the Health Department's Environmental Section.
Newt was a lay reader in the Episcopal Church beginning in the 1950s, when he served parishes in Alaska by bush plane. He was involved in the founding of the Episcopal mission churches of St. Richard's in Round Rock, Texas, and St. Paul's of Pflugerville, Texas. Newt was a member of the Scottish and York Rite Bodies in Austin and a Knight Templar, and served as Master of Austin's University Masonic Lodge No. 1190 from 1993-1994.
Newt married Leila M. Dryden in 1943 and they had four children. They were divorced in 1970. Newt was predeceased by Leila in March 2008; and by his sons, Philip Dryden Millen and Duncan Christie Millen, who died of cancer in 1989 and 1992 respectively. He was also predeceased by his brother, David Millen; and by his second wife, Adele Frantum Millen.
Newt is survived by his son, John Frederic Millen of San Francisco, Calif.; his daughter, Cynthia Fairchild Lovin and her husband Lester Lovin of Pflugerville; grandchildren, Samantha Dryden Millen and David Alexander Millen of Charleston, S.C., Rachael Moya Millen of Portland, Ore., and Sarah Renee Lovin and Jocelyn Leigh Lovin of Pflugerville; his sisters, Chris Story and Esther Gilchrist of Bonner County, Idaho; and by many extended family members and friends.
Newt's brilliant mind and physical gusto were diminished by a long period of disability, but his courage and keen sense of humor never left him. He was a remarkable man and we will miss him.
Services at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Pflugerville at 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14, 2008, with the Rev. Judith Jones presiding. Reception will follow at the church. If desired, memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul's, KMFA Austin, or Sandpoint Senior Center (memo: DayBreak Center) of Sandpoint (www.daybreakcenter.org.)