Terry Garland McMillan

Terry Garland McMillan, age 63, went home to be with his Lord on Friday, April 22, 2016, after a bravely fought battle with lung cancer. He was the beloved husband and soulmate of wife Pam, whom he married April 26, 2014, in Dallas, Texas. He was a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, where he was born August 1, 1952 to parents Lawrence D. and Elizabeth Garland McMillan. Terry had four older siblings (Patricia McMillan Fansler, Helen McMillan, Barbara McMillan Machen, and Larry McMillan) of whom Barbara Machen of Pearsall, Texas, survives him. Terry leaves behind five children: Kellie Deats of Ft. Worth, Texas; Tiffany Ellis (husband Craig), of Oklahoma City; Londell McMillan (wife Jennifer), of Gillette, Wyoming; Kyle McMillan, of Moore, Oklahoma; and Lacey McMillan of Lawton, Oklahoma. Eight grandchildren survive Terry: Logan, Peyton, Riley, and Saren McMillan of Gillette, Wyoming; Rochelle, Madison, and Kylah Ellis, and Ryan McMillan, all of Oklahoma City. Terry was a fascinating man who had scores of interests and a life filled with intriguing experiences. As a boy he worked on his sister and brother-in-law’s ranch and farm in South Texas, where he spent summers driving tractors and doing farm labor. He learned sheet metal work from another brother-in-law. After high school graduation in 1970, he was a fire fighter in Corpus Christi for a year and a half, followed by a twenty year career in the US Air Force as an air traffic controller. In that capacity, he enjoyed six years in Berlin, Germany, while the Berlin wall still surrounded the city, becoming fluent in German and travelling Europe. After returning to the states, he married and started a family, who then accompanied him on a three year assignment to England. Back in the states from England, he retired from the USAF and moved to the Texas Coast, where they lived in Rockport, near his hometown of Corpus Christi. He capitalized on his life-long love of cooking (acquired while a firefighter) and earned a degree in culinary arts while living in Corpus. He and his family returned to OKC in 1998, where he opened a family restaurant (the Earlywine Grill), worked for a while making trophies, sold real estate, and finally went to work at the FAA, putting his Air Traffic Control experience to work in a job he dearly loved. He not only loved his job at the FAA, he loved the people he worked with. He was serious and unrelenting about the accuracy of his work, but almost everything else was fair game for his playful nature. He loved to joke laugh, smile, kid around and generally lighten the mood wherever he went. He was a loving and devoted husband and father, a loyal friend, generous to a fault and kind to everyone. He loved the idea of being fully prepared for the End of Life as We Know it, be it an economic collapse or the somewhat less likely zombie apocalypse, and was working toward living a self sufficient life off-grid in a cabin somewhere with his wife Pam. He was a life-long handyman who could fix almost anything, a decorator with an eye for style and color, a passionate gardener who loved his bamboo and hibiscus collections, a collector of antiques and Aladdin oil lamps, an animal lover unafraid to admit he loved not only dogs but also cats and dared anyone to revoke his man-card because of it. He was a creative force in the kitchen or at the grill or smoker, and he loved to feed crowds of people at the drop of a hat. He loved sharing a lime and salt rimmed Tecate in a frosted glass at Los Vaqueros, and Vietnamese noodle soup at B and B Noodles in Moore. He loved German chocolate cake, apple pie, and a good rib-eye sizzling-hot off the grill He loved Jeeps, driving Jeeps, thinking about his Jeep, riding in his Jeep, and planning upgrades for his Jeep with his best friend Ray Sarchet. Terry was well traveled, well informed, interesting, gentle, charming, witty, funny, well-liked and an all around beautiful human. He was an easy man to love, and was unafraid to tell those that he loved what they meant to him. He leaves a gaping hole in the personal universes of all those close to him. He had a large circle of friends collected from so many places: the USAF (Third Herd, Berlin/ Tempelhof, Carswell AFB, Dyess AFB, Sheppard AFB, Tinker AFB, Columbus AFB), Corpus Christi, OKC, real estate, nationwide FAA offices, Lockheed Martin, Rockport. While facing this most difficult battle of his life, Terry gave himself to the Lord Jesus Christ, who promised that He went to prepare a place for those who believe. We so look forward to seeing this remarkable man again. There will be a celebration of Terry’s life and memorial service on Thursday, April 28, at 2:00 pm at: Eagle Heights Church 12001 S. Portland Ave Oklahoma City, OK 73170 In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions made be made to: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas or The Wounded Warrior Project (At Terry’s specific request and direction, there will also be an “Irish Wake” held at a time in the near future, to be announced very soon. We will spread the word so that everyone who wants to can participate. Anyone who knew Terry well will know that’s the event he’s really looking forward to). To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Terry Garland McMillan please visit our Sympathy Store.