Obituary for Gerry Mills
July 20, 2008 | Comments Off
The Dominon recently featured an obituary for Gerry Mills. Written by Peter Kitchin the obituary began.
“Gerry Mills was an influential Marist teacher whose horizons were notably broader than a priestly life suggests.
He was cultured, opinionated and worldly, and valued not only among his Marist colleagues but also among the hundreds of students who passed through his classrooms.
His community connections were expansive, and none of them were surprising; he was as well known in music circles of Wellington as he was to his students, congregations he led and his order.”
The complete obituary is available on the Stuff Website.
Fr Gerry Mills RIP
July 9, 2008 | Comments Off
It’s with considerable sadness that we write to mark the death of former St Patrick’s College Rector, Fr Gerard Mills.
Tuesday morning, Gerry went to his art class in Miramar. While in the class he collapsed and was taken by ambulance to Wellington Hospital. Fr Peter Roe went to be with Gerry and together with the hospital chaplain, Fr Ray Stachurski, anointed him and prayed for him.
About 2.00pm on Tuesday 6 July Peter was told by the Doctors that despite their best efforts Gerry had died. Gerry was born on 13 January, 1931. He was professed as a Marist on 2 February 1950 and ordained a priest on 12 December 1954.
Gerry is probably best known to us either as a teacher (1956 – 1963) or as Rector (1971 – 1976) at St Pats. Just two years after finishing his term as Rector at St Pat’s, Gerry was appointed Rector at St Bede’s College, Christchurch, a position he held until 1990. Since 1990, Gerry has held various pastoral positions including six years as Parish Priest at St Mary of the Angels, Wellington.
While Gerry was in his senior years and just this year officially retired, he was still full of life. He regularly helped out at St Mary of the Angels parish and had just spent Sunday afternoon in the company of some long-time friends.
In conversation, just the other day, Gerry said that he was looking forward to the Jubilee, and at its meeting just last week the Jubilee Committee had received a note from Gerry offering to help in any way that he could.
This of course is not the way that we planned our initial communication about the Jubilee. God’s ways are not necessarily our ways.
Gerry we will be buried from St Mary of the Angels. A Vigil Service will take place on Friday at 7pm and his furneral will be at 11am on Saturday 12 July.
May he rest in peace.