William W. Mills Jr. ’55

Bill, who loved nearly everything about Colorado except its distance from Princeton, died March 20, 2022, at home in Highlands Ranch, Colo. 

Bill was an inveterate joiner in civic and church affairs. “He always got involved; he liked to make a difference,” according to his wife, Anne, “especially things concerning Princeton.” They established an endowed trust to benefit Princeton, were members of the 1746 Society, and were regular supporters of the Princeton AlumniCorps as well as the class.

Bill was born March 22, 1933, in Englewood, N.J. At Princeton he joined Terrace Club and majored in the Special Program in International Affairs. In his senior year he married his high school sweetheart, Marion Alice Dreyer.

After graduation he spent 34 years with IBM, retiring as group director of planning. For many years Bill and his family lived in Cross River, N.Y., where he was a deacon and elder at the local Presbyterian church. 

Marion died in 1984, and in 1985 Bill married Anne Jones Compton, another IBM executive. They moved to Castle Pines Village in Colorado. In 2011 they moved to the Wind Crest retirement community in Highlands Ranch, Colo., where he became involved in community and church activities.

Bill is survived by his wife of 37 years, Anne; two children, Susan and William; two granddaughters; and two great-granddaughters.