George "Skip" Mills
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George's obituary
George Mills (a.k.a Skip, Georgie Pants, Uncle Grumpy, or any number of expletives) passed away peacefully December 8. He is survived by his wife of 23 years, Alison Ward, dozens of dear cousins, hundreds of friends and rugby brothers, and thousands of his “treasures.”
George was a life-long San Diegan; he was born in Grossmont to George and Katherine Mills. He attended Lincoln High School and was transferred to Morse High school as part of its first graduating class. After spending a few more years in East County, he moved to North County, where he stayed for the rest of his life. He owned and operated Ceilings by George, which, according to its promotional beer coozies, provided years of “Freakin’ Excellence” to its customers, and was a proud co-founder the North County Gurkhas Rugby Club which has provided years of freakin’ fun and brotherhood to many.
George stories are legendary - both the ones he told and the ones people tell about him - and everyone has one, if not dozens. Just a few of the countless things he will be remembered for (fondly or not) are:
Hawaiian shirts
His tequila collection
His amazing Bloody Mary recipe (which he would not share)
Waiting until the San Diego bars were closed before pronouncing, “We’re going to Tijuana!” and packing everyone in his van and heading south
Travelling everywhere with a cooler
Ranch weekends in Mexico
Writing his name on every single chair at parties so that he was always assured a seat by saying, “you’re sitting in my chair. See? It has my name on it” and then insisting they move
Playing rugby with a whistle in his pocket so that if the other team broke away to score a try, he could blow the whistle and stop play
Walking off of the rugby pitch mid-play to get a beer
Leading “his people out of the desert” after being lost for 24 hours in Mexico on “Bueno Road” (if you know, you know!)
Inexplicably always obsessing over the location of his hair brush
Calling children “Shorty,” constantly offering them cigars, and teaching them how to flip people off
Constantly reminding us all that, “cheese is binding”
He was universally loved by everyone who knew him (even when we hated to love him). He mentored younger teammates (for better or for worse, mostly worse), served as a counselor and (semi) trusted advisor to friends (for better or for worse), always showed up to help (but only after SEVERAL minutes of cussing, yelling and complaining about it), and hoarding so many “treasures” that Ali had to seek counseling.
George did everything on his own terms. He was larger than life and the life of every party. He will be dearly missed and often remembered. He is probably already hosting tequila-tasting, avocado-picking parties in the sky, enjoying endless supplies of Turtle beer, and likely giving Ozzy a run for his money!
(His name was George Mills and he approved this message)
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