Jim Mills Obituary

James Stephen Mills, Co-founder and former chief executive officer of Medline Industries, Inc., passed away suddenly on July 1, 2019. The eldest child of Irving and Beatrice Mills, he was born in Chicago on September 29, 1936. Upon graduating from Senn High School, Jim attended Northwestern University and graduated in 1957 with a bachelor's of science in Business. He then served his country in the United States Army as a clerk and a typist and continued to serve in the Army Reserve Corps for 5 1/2 years after his discharge. After his military service, he went to work as a sales representative first at National Cash Register and later at General Mills.In 1960, he became a sales rep at his father's company, Mills Hospital Supply. Jim's first marriage gave him three children, Charles, Donald and Peggy, and, in 1973, he married the love of his life, Victoria Krisch, bringing two daughters, Margueritte and Deidre, into the family. In 1961, Irv Mills sold Mills Hospital Supply, and Jim and his brother Jon stayed on for five years. In 1966, the two brothers left and founded the company that today is Medline. By 1972, the business had more than $8 million in annual revenue and has continued to grow at a double digit rate annually. In 1997, Medline grew to $600 million in annual sales when Jim and Jon handed the reins to Jim's son and current CEO Charlie Mills, Jim's nephew and current company president Andy Mills, and Jon's son-in-law and current COO Jim Abrams. Jim and his brother stayed on as co-chairmen of the business that today is a global healthcare company manufacturing and distributing medical supplies with over $13 billion in annual sales and 23,000 employees. Jim established Medline's strong entrepreneurial spirit, work ethic, relentless dedication to customer service, and never-give-up attitude. He was a man who loved Orange Julius from Dairy Queen and trips to Las Vegas equally. His love of horseback riding included dreams of being a cowboy, and he was known to eat blueberry blintzes while razzing family and friends. As Medline continued to grow, Jim remained humble and took pride in working longer and harder than anyone else. He was very philanthropic, making generous donations to Chicago Public Schools, Miseracordia, the Friends of Clinton School and established its "One Year Older, One Year Smarter" program which selects one eighth grader each year to earn a scholarship. In addition to his wife, Vicki, Jim is survived by his children, Charlie, Donnie, Peggy (John) Baker, Margueritte (Mark) Milhollin and Deidre (Clay) Grubb; ten grandchildren, Adam, Julia, Tessa, Blair, Hayden, Wilson, Miriam, Joseph, Rosalie, and Davis, his brother and sister-in-law Jon and Lois Mills; dozens of nieces and nephews; and many, many, lifelong friends. Services will be held on Friday, July 5, 2019, at 1:00 p.m., at Am Shalom, 840 Vernon Ave., Glencoe with visitation to immediately follow until 5:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to a charity of your choice.