A Life Remembered | Former Busey chairman was 'larger than life'
May 24—CHAMPAIGN — Visionary. Energetic. Generous. People who knew Doug Mills use a lot of the same words to describe him.
As Busey's board chairman, he elevated the bank's assets from multimillions to multibillions.
Alongside his first wife, Linda, he founded the Busey-Mills Community Foundation and funded the Mills Breast Cancer Institute at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana.
But praise for Mills isn't all due to business decisions or big-ticket donations.
"He empowered people. He encouraged people. He was the first one to pat you on the back to tell you you've done an outstanding job," said Barbara Kuhl, who worked with Mills for 32 years.
She started out as his secretary, but Mills gave her opportunities to work her way up to become president of the holding company.
"He provided women with an opportunity before many people ever did," said Barbara's husband, Dave Kuhl, who also worked with Mills for 27 years.
Dave credits a lot of his own success to Mills, too, for giving him opportunities and encouraging him to get involved in the community.
"He allowed us, as some pretty small-town people, to be a lot more successful than I thought I ever could be," Dave said.
Mills worked to support all of Busey's employees, setting up a stock-ownership plan as well as a profit-sharing plan, which was even more uncommon at the time than it is today.
The Kuhls never had a problem stepping out of work to pick up their kids, and Dave loved taking them on Busey's annual parent-child baseball game trip — all thanks to the family values Mills encouraged.
"The Busey culture was something that would be very difficult to replicate today," Barbara said.
Dave said you could talk to just about anybody in Champaign-Urbana and they'd have good things to say about Mills, but he wasn't often in the news.
At least, not outside of the sports section or industry news.
Mills was a multi-sport athlete at the University of Illinois in baseball, basketball and football, earning the Daily Illini's Athlete of the Year award in '62.
He still holds second place in UI history for career-winning percentage as a pitcher.
The titles didn't stop rolling in after graduation: Mills was the Illinois Bankers Association's 2004 Illinois Banker of the Year.
Vice chairman of the First Busey Corp. board Greg Lykins remembers him as both a great friend and excellent business partner.
"He could develop and act on visions for the future beyond the normal," Lykins said. "He was fiercely competitive in all respects and was very loyal to his friends, associates and the community."
Lykins also remembers Linda fondly and thinks highly of Cynthia, Mills' second wife.
Mills was also the Carle Cornerstone Award recipient in 2019, commemorating that $10 million donation to kick off funding for the breast cancer institute in 2006.
The center was important to Mills because he wanted to provide a more comfortable, welcoming place for people like Linda to receive cancer treatments.
Dr. James Leonard, president and CEO at Carle Foundation Hospital, said Mills' donation inspired many others to follow his lead.
"We are forever grateful to Doug Mills and his wife, Linda, who believed in innovation and access to cancer care close to home," Leonard said. "While Linda Mills lost her battle with cancer a few months after the 2006 groundbreaking, Doug and her dedication to supporting this community continues to benefit generations and is a huge reason why Carle Health is able to provide the customized care, treatment and tools patients need in the fight against breast cancer."
Mills' business savvy and community support left a major mark, but don't account for another way people close to him describe him: He was a whole lot of fun.
"He lived 'larger than life' in a very positive way. ... He had incredible confidence with a great sense of humor," Lykins said.
The Kuhls' children barely believed Mills was gone because of that very "larger than life" energy.
"They almost thought he was immortal," Dave said.
"I think at times, he thought he was," Barbara said.
Few got to see Mills' pure fun side more than his former daughter-in-law, Meredith Mills, and grandaughters Madison and Ashley.
They remember his love of music, from opera to Bob Marley to Lionel Richie, which he always played at top volume — especially since they taught him to use a Bluetooth speaker last year.
A week after his death, the girls were listening to music in the car when Madison's phone seemed to jump to "Could You Be Loved" on its own.
"I teared up because I think he changed the song in my car," Madison said. "It's like he's listening."
Mills spent his retirement filling his schedule with as much travel as possible and took Ashley and Madison on annual vacations either separately or together.
"He was all about having fun and making memories and experiences with other people," Meredith said.
He liked anyplace sunny, so his trips included plenty of islands, but he'd go anywhere from Dubai to Australia and beyond; before his death, he was looking forward to seeing the pyramids in Egypt.
Plenty of trips included seeing live performances of "Mamma Mia!", blasting "Dancing Queen" in the car or watching the movie on the plane — sometimes more than once in a flight.
"It's just so funny, I don't hear of a lot of men who love 'Mamma Mia,'" Madison said.
If Mills was ever bothered by anything, he didn't show it.
Neither Meredith nor her daughters could remember seeing him without a smile on his face or doing anything less than his best to help others.
"His generosity was next to none. I've never met anybody who spends more time thinking about other people and ways he can make their lives better," Meredith said.
