Thomas Roberts McMillen ’38
Tom died in Evanston, Ill., on Sept. 17, 2002, from complications following a stroke. He graduated from Hotchkiss before coming to Princeton, where he was a member of the varsity crew and Terrace Club. He also was on the editorial board of the Daily Princetonian and graduated with highest honors in politics. Tom was awarded a Rhodes scholarship, but WWII prevented him from attending Oxford. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1941 and then served in Army intelligence, receiving the Bronze Star and the Croix de Guerre.
Thereafter he practiced law in Chicago, and became a judge in 1968. In 1971, Pres. Nixon appointed him to the federal bench, where he served with great courage and distinction, dealing with a number of highly complex and controversial cases, including the trial of the militant Puerto Rican group, FALN, which brought him national attention. After he retired in 1985, he remained active as an arbitrator and mediator. He received our class distinguished service award in 1998. He continued to hunt and fish until illness overtook him.
Tom is survived by Nan, his wife of 56 years; three daughters, Patricia, Margot, and Onnie; and seven grandchildren, to all of whom the class extends heartfelt condolences.
The Class of 1938
Paw in print
December 2025
Judge Michael Park ’98; shifts in DEI initiatives; a night at the new art museum.
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Patricia R. “TI” McMillen
1 Month AgoThanks for this Memorial
On behalf of my entire family, belated thanks for this lovely memorial note on my late father. I didn’t know about most of his accomplishments at Hotchkiss and Princeton, and now suspect he had some lingering PTSD from his WWII service that — together with a generational bias against admitting, let alone treating, psychiatric conditions like PTSD — prevented his processing or even discussing more painful memories, or considering how they may have disrupted happier ones. One thing he never lost, however, was his immense pride in his Princeton education, and his affection for the professors and classmates he encountered there.