WWII veteran, Whiteside board member Jack McMillin loses battle with pancreatic cancer

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STERLING – Jack McMillin served his country until the bitter end.

The World War II Army Airborne paratrooper who once liberated 2,147 POWs from the Philippines, died in his home Tuesday from complications of pancreatic cancer.

It was 4 days after his 86th birthday, 1 week after attending his last Whiteside County Board meeting, and 2 weeks after McMillin flew to Washington D.C. with 36 other area WWII veterans to tour the war’s memorial on the Honor Flight of the Quad Cities.

If anything, McMillin earned a reputation as a survivor with an infectious zeal for life.

“I’m going to miss his sense of humor. He always made me smile,” Whiteside County Clerk Dana Nelson said. “He always had a joke or a little smile.”

For the March board meeting, near St. Patrick’s Day and before his cancer diagnosis, McMillin came to the meeting decked in a lime green tuxedo, with a green rhinestoned top hat and green sunglasses.

He unfurled an Irish flag and issued his report as chairman of the Judiciary Committee in honor of Ireland.

He served on the board for 18 years, in addition to being former manager of Northland Mall and former owner of a Sterling real estate business.

“Jack was a good personal friend of mine,” board Chairman Tony Arduini said. “I’ve known him a long time before he was on the board, and I had a lot of personal respect for him.”

“He was a great guy; it was an honor to know him,” Arduini said.

McMillin’s death leaves a vacancy on the Whiteside County Board and an open chairmanship for the Judiciary Committee.

Arduini said he’s going to wait on making an appointment until a week or two have passed out of respect to McMillin and his family.

“I’m not even going to think about it for a while,” Adruini said. “Right now, I’m not worried about the board at all. We’ll give a week or two and start looking into it.”

“It’s really sad,” Nelson said. “The cancer took him pretty quickly ... At least he got to go on the Honor Flight.”

Services planned

A visitation for John “Jack” McMillin will be 1-8 p.m. Friday at the McDonald Funeral Home in Rock Falls, 1002 12th Ave. Funeral services are pending.

Condolences can be posted at www.mcdonaldfuneralhomes.com online.

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