Roland Manfred Mills aka Fred

Roland Manfred Mills, known affectionately to family at 'Fred' was born in the autumn of 1883 on September 26th to lawyer and federal politician, John Burpee Mills, age thirty-three and his twenty-four year old wife, Bessie Brittian Mills, nee: Corbitt in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.

 Fred was one of five children borth to John and Bessie Mills. Jean Leslie Mills, born on the 17th of July, 1879 in Granville Ferry Novia Scotia was the first born to Bessie, then twenty years old, followed by Harold Marmian Mills on the 6th of January in 1881 and John Victor Mills born on the 26th of September, 1883 in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Fred would follow in 1883 and their youngest sister, the last born on the 13th of December 1883.

     On October 13 of 1913 at the age of thirty, Fred, Roland Manfred Mills would marry, twenty-four, Florence Thompson in Belleville, Ontario. 

     Fourteen months later, at the age of 25, Florence gave birth to Dorothy Noelle Mills on the 20th of December 1914.  By 1916, the young family was living at 802 Garwood Street, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

     Tragically Florence would contract and perish of tuberculosis, one of many highly contagious disease that plagued the still frontier town of Winnipeg in that time period.

    At the age of 27, Florence a Presbyterian, passed away on the 2nd of December, 1916, just two weeks before her daughter, Dorothy's 2nd birthday.

     Fred and young Dorothy, would remain in Winnipeg. On the first of October, 1917, at the age of 34, Fred married 28 year old, Lillian Isabel Bott. 

      On the 9th of July, 1918 Fred age 35 and Lillian age 29 welcome their first daughter together, Joan, who was christened Catherine Josephine Mills, Sometime that same year Fred's sister Jean would tragically pass away at the age of 39. 
    

    In 1924, on the 21st of December, Ruthie, christened Ruth Isabel Mills was born, to 41 year old Fred and 35 year old Lillian. Ruthie was born just a day shy of her older sister, Dorothy's birthday on the 20th of December.
 
     Fred and all of his surviving siblings would relocate to British Columbia. Fred would pass away on October 19, 1966 at the age of 83 in Vancouver, B.C. His older brother John Victor Mills would follow a month later on the 28th of October, 1966 at the age of 84. On the second of April, 1967, younger sister Ruth would pass at the age of eight-one. On the 20th January, 1968 Lillian too would pass. Fred and Lillian were interned at Ocean View Cemetery in Burnaby, BC.