UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO VARSITY BLUES TRACK & FIELD BLUES’ COACH DON MILLS PASSES AWAY AT AGE 75
The Canadian track and field community lost a long-time coach, official, administrator and a close friend on Sunday, March 16th when Don Mills passed away peacefully in his sleep.
His involvement in track and field dates back to 1963 when he co-founded the Toronto Striders Track Club. Mills, 76, was most recently an assistant coach with the
Don Mills Tribute
University of Toronto Varsity Blues track and field and cross country teams, where he focused his efforts on the men’s middle distance training.
He joined the Varsity Blues staff in 1999 and was with the U of T squad in Windsor this past weekend for the 2003 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Championships at the time of his passing.
Mills connections to U of T also go as far back as the early 1960’s, where he spent time as a coach with the men’s boxing team. When not at his home in Oakville, Mills would be at one of
two places – a track and field training session or a meet. His passion was without a doubt athletics.
After his time with the Striders, Mills went on to form Track West in 1973 and was a club coach there until the end of the 2002 season. When he was not busy coaching he was volunteering with the Ontario Track Field Association as an official or meet director where contributed his meticulous administrative and communications skills. He was the ultimate combination of coach and manager. For his work as a volunteer administrator Mills received the Government of Ontario’s Special Achievement Award.
Never having driven a car, Mills had mastered all of the bus and train routes from coast to coast and was never deterred from getting to a track meet or practice session, no matter the distance. His ability to get to meets without his own vehicle became legendary. In fact, in recent years he wouldn’t fly, but that did not stop him from attending the national cross country championship in Vancouver. He left a week ahead of schedule to take the train across the country to be with his team.
Don Mills worked with young student-athletes for over forty years, with his sole purpose being to help them achieve their goals. He touched the lives of thousands, and will be greatly missed.
Details of his funeral arrangements and memorial services have yet to be determined.
– U of T –
Tributes
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Memorial Service Plans
Thank you for your patience and understanding in awaiting this announcement regarding the memorial service for Don Mills.
After discussions between several of Don’s close friends and with the trustees of his last will and testament, it has been decided that a fitting way to say goodbye to Don would be to hold a public memorial service at the track at University of Toronto Athletic Centre. As many of you will know, Don spent countless hours over the years coaching and mentoring athletes at the university’s indoor track, and it was felt that it would be an appropriate venue to hold such a service.
The service will begin promptly at 9am on Saturday, March 22nd on the third floor of the Athletic Centre, which is located at 55 Harbord Street (southeast corner of Spadina and Harbord in Toronto). The coaching staff at the university has arranged that the doors to the Athletic Centre will be opened at 8:45am.
A very small and private service will be held with some of Don’s family and friends in Windsor, where Don will be cremated. His ashes will be buried at his family’s church in Lennoxville, Quebec.
As we will be discussing the details of the service beginning tomorrow, and we don’t want anybody to feel excluded from the arrangements, particularly
if they have any special requests for the service, please contact me by email (or by phone at 416-581-1661) as soon as possible. Or call Carl Georgevski at the U of T (416-978-2991) on Wednesday.
The Memorial Service
“They started a race timer with the first words spoken at his memorial.
A golden bell was on hand and the lap counter read one.
The memorial service lasted 48 minutes and 44 seconds. Don Mills would have agreed, 48:44 would be a great time for a 10-miler. ”
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Regards, Martin Dixon
