Margaret Haynes Mills, of Sarasota Fl and Santa Fe, NM, passed away in Santa Fe on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. She was 94 years old.
Margaret was born in Daviess County, Kentucky on January 7, 1932, to Walker W. and Virgie Mae Burdette Haynes. Baptized at the Old Panther Creek Church, she was raised in Daviess County and graduated from Whitesville High School in 1949.
After two years at Bethel Women’s College in Hopkinton, Kentucky, she completed college at the University of Kentucky, graduating in 1953. Margaret met her future husband, Glenn S. Mills, at the University of Kentucky, and they were married at the Karns Grove Church in Philpot, Kentucky, in 1953. Margaret and Glenn moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they began their family including children Michael (1959), Monte (1961) and Melinda (1963). Margaret and Glenn were active in Sandia Baptist Church, and Margaret was a member of the Albuquerque AAUW, Penwomen, and the Yucca Gallery in Old Town. Margaret had several careers including Public Service Company of New Mexico, Albuquerque Public Schools, and the US Census Bureau, before she and Glenn retired to Sarasota, Fl, in 1992.
Margaret and Glenn were active during their retirement, as members of First Baptist Church, Sarasota, and they travelled extensively throughout the US and around the world, on their own and with the Friendship Force. Margaret continued her watercolor painting and was active in the Florida Watercolor Society and several Sarasota painting groups.
Margaret lost Glenn in 1999, but continued to paint and travel, visiting more than 25 countries on 5 continents, including many trips with her good friend Chuck Reist and the Sarasota Friendship Force and other travelling groups. She volunteered as an usher at Van Wezel Hall, the Sarasota Opera, and Players Theater.
Margaret returned to New Mexico in 2025 to live near her daughter, Melinda Broderick, in Santa Fe.
Survivors include son Michael Mills, Vienna Austria; son Monte Mills and daughter-in-law Deann Mills, Philadelphia; and daughter Melinda Broderick, Santa Fe. Six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter include Walker Mills and wife Virginia Irisarri Foschini, Audrey Mills and fiancée Tim Hill, Graham Mills, Kirby Broderick, Katherine Broderick, Ethan Broderick, and great-granddaughter Antonia Agnes Mills-Irisarri (2026).
Services and internment will be with private, near her family and Glenn, at the Old Panther Creek Burying Ground near Whitesville, Kentucky.
Our thanks to all the staff at The Legacy Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hospice, and the University of New Mexico Hospital Critical Care Team.