Obituary of Elizabeth Clark Mills

Elizabeth Clark Mills, known as Beth, Bethie, Mom, and Gran, passed away peacefully at her Englewood, Colorado home while surrounded by her loving family on September 4, 2023. She was 66. 

 

Beth, who had lived in Englewood since 1997, was born in Washington, DC on May 18, 1957 to Katie and Marsh Clark. The daughter of journalists, Beth lived in northern Virginia as a child, followed by the St. Louis and Chicago areas, and then Ontario, Canada. Her family then returned to northern Virginia where she attended Yorktown High School and graduated in 1975. As a senior, she visited her sister Maree at Virginia Tech where she first laid her eyes on the love of her life and soulmate, a long haired boy from Spotsylvania, Virginia named Jud. When she started attending Virginia Tech the next year as a sociology major, they became inseparable and eventually wed on August 18, 1979. Their first child, Drew, was born a little over a year later. Beth worked as a T.A. during her pregnancy and then took leave from her Masters of Sociology program at Virginia Tech to give birth and care for young Drew and still, somehow, managed to graduate on time. Three more children (Kate, Joey, and Zack) followed in the next 13 years, as did moves to Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Florida, and Alabama. 

 

Beth spent most of the 80s and 90s as a homemaker and professional mom. She volunteered at her children’s schools, attended thousands of baseball and softball games, and would often cook enough delicious food for an army, all without breaking a sweat. Once her youngest was in elementary school, she started working as a teacher at Hope Preschool in Greenwood Village, Colorado, where she stayed for almost 20 years. Beth was infamous for the elaborate art projects she would do with her students and for inspiring creativity in her kids over the years. After she left teaching, Beth worked at Tuesday Morning and then Costco, where she spent a meaningful portion of her paycheck every week, often on gifts for the people she loved.

 

Beth was a voracious reader who loved family get-togethers, snuggling with her pets, and sitting outside in the Colorado sunshine in her patio garden. She was overjoyed when she became a grandmother for the first time in April, 2020 to Mason. She fought hard in her last days to see her second grandchild, Delaney Elizabeth, who was born on August 5, 2023. A bigger smile was never seen than the one that Beth had for her two grandbabies in that last month of her life.

 

Beth is survived by her loving husband Jud Mills of Englewood, Colorado; her four children Drew Mills of Denver, Colorado, Kate Mills of Denver, Colorado, Joey Mills (with wife Alyssa) of Castle Pines, Colorado, and Zack Mills (with wife Chanelle) of Denver, Colorado; her grandchildren Mason and Delaney; her siblings Ben Clark (with wife Becky) of St. Louis, Missouri, Maree Clark of Englewood, Colorado, and Marty Clark (with husband Rick) of Clifton, Virginia; and many other family members spread across the country.

 

Beth touched the lives of many with her warm, welcoming spirit and her unyielding love. She will be dearly missed by her family and friends. A celebration of Beth’s life will be held in the Fellowship Hall at Hope United Methodist Church in Greenwood Village, Colorado (where Beth worked for years as a preschool teacher) on Saturday, September 30 at 2pm. The family asks that you wear something comfortable and offers that you can wear your best blues, as blue was Beth’s favorite color and the one she felt cutest in. In lieu of flowers, the Mills family ask that you make a donation in Beth’s memory to the Cancer Research Institute or the Parkinson Association of the Rockies.