William "Avon" Millis

William “Avon” Millis, 82, of Newport, passed away peacefully on August 5, at The Crystal Coast Hospice House in Newport.

The family will receive friends on Sunday, August 8, from 6pm to 8pm at Munden Funeral Home, Morehead City. A funeral service will be held on Monday, August 9, at 11am at Holly Springs Free Will Baptist Church in Newport officated by Rev. Mitchell Parker.  Burial will follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Newport.  Friends are welcome to attend the service. For those unable to attend, the family invites you to view the webcasting of the service on Avon’s obituary page on Munden Funeral Home’s website.

Avon’s working career and love was with heavy equipment, specifically the dragline at Carteret Construction Co. formerly of Newport. He also worked for Garner Construction and East Carolina Builders in Newport. He often was noted as having the sharpest eye for digging ditches, laying pipe on grade and operating other types of heavy equipment. He was a strong supporter of the Newport Community. In his younger years he volunteered with the Newport Fire Department. He was one of the original 15 cooks of the Newport Pig Cooking Contest. He remained involved and cooked in the Pig Cooking Contest for over 25 years and also was involved with cooking in Operation Christmas Cheer. Avon had diabetes since he was in his 20’s. The diabetes was hard to control and he agreed to not only try and help himself, but to try and help others out by successfully participating in the Duke ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) study in Durham, NC. Avon traveled to Duke University Medical University in Durham, NC every month (sometimes 2 & 3 times a month) and made around 100 trips in the 6-8 year study where he “made a difference” not only in his medical journey but for other people’s health future.  Avon loved to volunteer, cook pigs, turkeys, make conch stews and have clam bakes. He gave his heart, time and support to many causes in his community. He loved his family and always would lend a helping hand or offered his wisdom and life experiences when needed. He had the heart of gold and will be sorely missed. He spent the last 3 years at Croatan Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Newport where he affectionately became known as “Pop-Pop”.

He is survived by his daughter, Lisa Millis Wiedner and husband Danny of Newport; sons, William “Billy” A. Millis, Jr and Danny Ray Millis and wife Johanna also of Newport; sister Mamie Riddle of Franklin, VA, 5 grandchildren Christian A. Wiedner and wife Taylor, Justin D. Wiedner and girlfriend Ashlee, and Landon Millis all of Newport, Greyson Millis of Pelletier and Shelby Millis of Greenville and 2 great grandchildren Corbin Thomas Wiedner and Kynlee Lane Davis.

He was preceded in his death by his father William “Willie” Millis, mother Lillian “Lillie” Millis, and 5 siblings Carroll, Glenn, Roland, Lucille and James.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Duke Health in support of diabetes research.  Please make checks payable to Duke University and mailed to Duke Health Development, ATTN: Jillian Ream, Duke Alumni and Development Records, Box 90581, Durham, NC 27708 or The Crystal Coast Hospice House, PO Box 640, Newport, NC 28570. Please be sure to note William “Avon” Millis’s name in the memo line. Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net. Arrangements made by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, NC.