David Bonn Mills

Madison/ Black River Falls-David B. Mills, a retired attorney, died Monday, June 27, surrounded by his family. He was 73 and passed away at Meriter Hospital following a brief illness. He will be remembered for his characteristic enthusiasm and dedication to his family, friends and his wide-ranging pursuits.

He tutored children in reading at the Boys & Girls Club. He campaigned on behalf of progressive candidates. He was a regular at University of Wisconsin sporting events, an accomplished golfer and former marathoner and was a lifelong student of architecture and design.

Born to Tom and Betty Mills on Aug. 4, 1937, Dave graduated from high school in Black River Falls in 1955. He played football, basketball and baseball, and ran track, earning an unusual total of 16 letters. He went on to be a point guard at the U.W., where he was awarded a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1959 and a law degree in 1963.

He and his wife Carla, a native of Madison, met at the university and were married on July 14, 1962. Dave served in the Navy for two years, where he wrote wills aboard nuclear submarines and played basketball for the Sublant team.
In 1965 he joined Kopp McKichan and Geyer in Platteville, eventually becoming president of the Grant County Bar Association. In 1972 he went to work for Marshall Erdman & Associates in Madison before being asked to head up the newly formed Wisconsin Bar Foundation, finally spending the majority of his career coordinating Continuing Legal Education for the State Bar.
He and Carla especially loved spending time with their two children: daughter, Marja Mills, Chicago, son, Mark Mills, Minneapolis, and grandsons, Thomas and Andrew Mills, Minneapolis. They gathered frequently at their home in Black River Falls, where Dave's first cousins and their spouses were like siblings to him.
A memorial service will be held Thursday, July 14, 2011, at 4:30 p.m. at the FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY MEETING HOUSE, Landmark Auditorium, 900 University Bay Drive, Madison. Cress Funeral Home, www.CressFuneralService.com, is handling arrangements. Memorial contributions may be made to the Black River Falls Area Foundation, P.O. Box 99, Black River Falls, WI 54615.