Barron Mills, Jr.

L. Barron Mills, Jr, 87 of Asheboro, passed away on January 17, 2015 at Universal Healthcare of Ramseur. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 1:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church, 420 West Walker Ave., Asheboro with Rev. Brian Gawf and Rev. Connie Weaver officiating. The family will receive friends following the service in the small fellowship hall at the church. Mr. Mills was born in Laurinburg on July 17, 1927 to Lapsley Barron and Elizabeth Pickett Mills. He was a 1944 graduate of Laurinburg High School and a 1949 graduate of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism. Barron served his country in the U.S. Navy and was a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard. He was the former editor of the Daily Tarheel at UNC-Chapel Hill, The Alamance News in Graham, the Assistant City-State Editor of the Winston-Salem Journal and the Editor/Publisher of The Randolph Guide in Asheboro from 1955-1991. He was the author of "Dancing with Pretty Women," "Randolph County: A Brief History," and "Come Garden With Me." Barron was formerly employed as the Veterans Service Officer for Randolph County. Barron earned his Boy Scout Eagle Award, was Past President of the Asheboro Jaycees, and Past President of the Asheboro Rotary Club, where he was a Paul Harris Fellow recipient. He was named the Asheboro Young Man of the Year and was the recipient of the NC Association of Educators "School Bell Award." Barron was a member of First Presbyterian Church is Asheboro, where he was a deacon. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Stewart-Patterson Mills; daughters, Joni Mills Rosser and husband Terry of Hilton Head, SC, Kim Mills Whelchel and husband Lon of Midlothian, VA, Ginny Mills Dunn and husband Matt of Asheboro; grandchildren, Amanda, Lindsey, and Michelle Whelchel, Dylan and Carly Rosser, and Maggie and Susie Dunn; sister Joan Mills Coleman of Burlington. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Christian's United Outreach Center (CUOC), PO Box 784, Asheboro, NC 27204. Pugh Funeral Home in Asheboro is serving the Mills family.