Jan D. Mills Sr.

Jan D. Mills Sr., 80, State College, passed away Tuesday at Juniper Village at Brookline in State College. He was born in Renovo, son of the late Paul L. and Rebecca G. (Belford) Mills. On Jan. 21, 1967 he married Mary Ann Keiper and she preceded him in death on June 11, 2005.

He is survived by two sons: Jan D. Mills Jr., and Christopher A. Mills; two sisters: Becky A. Cannon and Jeanie Grubb; and a brother, Thomas B. Mills.

He was preceded in death by a brother, Paul M. Mills.

On March 15, 1962, Jan joined the U.S. Navy and went to nuclear power school. He served on the USS Finch (DER-328) and was the first on-station in Vietnam.

He later worked in Lock Haven as an assistant store manager for Claster’s before moving to Altoona in 1971 to become the manager of the Altoona Claster’s store. From 1976 to 1992 he worked for Celotex in research and development, specializing in heat transfer, fluid flow, and vapor migration of building materials. He joined the PA Turnpike Commission in 1992 and worked as an internal auditor until retiring in 2008.

Jan ran for mayor of Altoona in 1986 and 2009. He also served on the Altoona City Council for 21 months from March 24, 2010 to January 2, 2012. He was very active in Boy Scouts, Scoutmaster Troop 51, and Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 1, both in Altoona.

Jan was a very active member of Jaggard United Methodist Church and Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Altoona and Saint Joseph’s Catholic in Renovo.

Friends will be received from 11am to 1pm Saturday, August 13, 2022 in the Santella Funeral Home. The visitation will conclude with military honors.
 

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in memory of Jan to Camp Anderson at www.campanderson.net/donation-form.

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