She was known for being strong and always going forward in life, despite adversities. Her highest loves in life were the Lord and family relatives. She treasured being raised in a loving family and took the role of family historian, cherishing all the small family mementos reminding her of them. She loved both to be able to work and engage in lively discussions with whomever she met.
Millie will lovingly be missed by her sister, Kimber Cross, who walked Millie’s cancer journey at her side. Millie was a most imaginative playmate whenever with children. Her sister’s grandchildren were at the top of her list. She is survived also by her brother-in law, John M Cross Jr,, and her sister’s children, Jennifer Whitehouse, Stacy Norred and John S. Cross.
Millie grew up in Queens New York. She was dedicated lifelong to learning and hard work. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in 1971 from the University of Rhode Island, a Masters Degree in 1976 from Fairfield University and a 6th Year Professional Degree in advanced Early Childhood Education from the University of Bridgeport in 1998.
She was a very artistic photographer as portrayed in her special photographic essays of life of the forgotten poor in Mexico, Appalachia and Haiti. She learned that every person had a precious story to tell, and all lives should be loved and respected. She became a talented staff photographer for Newsday in Long Island, New York and New York City for two years. In Bridgeport Connecticut, she was a newspaper photographer for 20 years, until becoming an Early Childhood teacher who loved the children she taught.
Later in life, she moved to Alfred, Maine to be with her mother, who was her best friend. There she worked at Goodwill as a mentoring job coach for the disabled. After 2006, she began working as personal home care aide for seniors and the profoundly disabled, to often be found dancing and “Singing in the Rain” with them, until she herself became disabled in 2016 taking on the warrior challenge of cancer.
While in Alfred, she relished sharing in the community at the Brothers of Christian Instruction in their outreach to the homeless and poor. Her last goal in life as a Catholic was to become a Eucharistic Minister to be able to deliver communion to the sick.
Her family wants to specially thank her relatives, friends, MMP Gynecologic Oncology and IV therapists, MMC Gibson caregivers , Hospice of So. Maine nurses, and MMC Chaplain – who each gave her such charitable kind special care and attention during her numerous days struggling in and out of the hospital for this last year.
There will be a Catholic Mass of Christian Burial at the Notre Dame Chapel of the Brothers of Christian Instruction at 132 Shaker Hill Road in Alfred, Maine on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. Lunch follows at the Bistro in Alfred. She will be interned at the Spring Run Church of the Brethren Cemetery in McVeytown, Pennsylvania where her family relatives are buried, on a hillside overlooking her beloved grandparents’ Valley View Farm in Ferguson Valley.
Millie requested no flowers, if donations instead might be considered to:
Brothers of Christian Instruction at Alfred, PO Box 159, Alfred, ME 04002 or Spring Run Church of the Brethren, PO Box 333, 6712 Ferguson Valley Road, McVeytown, PA 17051.
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