Elizabeth Mills
Elizabeth Mills

Obituary of Elizabeth Sanders Mills

Elizabeth Sanders Mills November 7, 1925 – June 29, 2013 Elizabeth Mills, known to her friends as Betty, was born in Weleetka, Oklahoma, to Archibald and Ethel Sanders. Having lived a full and productive life, she left this world and entered into her eternal home on June 29, 2013. She is survived by her five children: Janice Mortenson, John Mills, Karen Castagna, Richard S. Mills, and Ruth Mills Robbins, who between them gave her twelve grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Betty’s husband, Dick, preceded her to their eternal home one year ago. Of Betty’s three siblings, Mary Johnson passed on before her, leaving her older sister Marjorie Brescia and her twin brother Robert Sanders to survive her. Betty graduated from high school in the Washington, DC area. Following high school, she attended Lynchburg College in Virginia where she met Dick Mills. They married on June 5, 1946 and moved to Chicago, Illinois, in order for Dick to attend Northern Baptist Seminary. While at seminary, Dick and Betty responded to a call for missionaries and began the process of preparing to go overseas. While in Chicago, Betty gave birth to her oldest daughter, Janice. In 1950, Betty, her husband and oldest daughter moved to Paris, France, for language study. While in Paris, their oldest son was born. After a year of language study, they set sail for Ivory Coast, then a French colony. Another daughter and son were born in Ivory Coast. Their fifth child was born while they were on furlough in the United States. During her fifty years as a missionary in Africa, Betty learned the Ceebaara language and developed an alphabet and way of writing the language. After one term as missionaries, Betty realized that she and Dick needed further linguistic training. During their year on home assignment, they sought out the skills needed to analyze and write the Senoufo language. On their return to the field, Betty analyzed the grammar of the language so that other missionaries could learn how to speak and write the language. Her work paved the way for the translation of the Bible into Ceebaara and for teaching the Senoufo people to read. In the course of raising her five children, she constantly worked to help others understand the Senoufo language and to provide tools for others working in the language. In 1980, the University of Abidjan asked Betty to write a course for them to teach Ceebara. She and Dick lived and worked in Abidjan until 1999. For her many years of service to the Senoufo people, the Ivorian government inducted her into their highest organization of honor as Officer of the National Order (Officier d’Ordre Nationale). Betty loved the Senoufo people and she was always ready to defend the rights of anyone she felt had been treated unjustly. She loved music and she loved her Lord Jesus. Her greatest desire was for those she met to come to know Him too. Betty retired from the mission field in 1999. She and her husband returned to the United States and spent a year at the Overseas Ministries Study Center in New Haven, Connecticut, where Betty participated in various symposia held at the Center, before moving to the US Center for World Missions in Pasadena, California, for a year. In 2001, the Mills moved to Panorama City in Lacey, Washington. Betty passed away at 11:30 a.m. on June 29, 2013, with her son John, his wife, and their three children by her side. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Bethel Bible Institute (IBB) Library in Korhogo, Cote d’Ivoire at: http://www.worldventure.com/page.aspx?pid=1253&fid=6462906 Please leave memories of Betty or condolences for her family in the Guestbook below.
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