Skip to main content
With the Lord

Donald McMillen, Pastor

By September 18, 2014September 23rd, 2014No Comments

SAC CITY, Iowa—Donald Ray McMillen, pastor and pulpit-supply speaker, died on Sept. 15. He was 85.

Don was born March 31, 1929, at his grandparents’ home in rural Dryden, N.Y. He was the son of the late Raymond and Lurline (Whittier) McMillen. In October 1946 he trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior, and the course of his life changed.

He graduated from high school in Ithaca, N.Y., in 1946. He married the love of his life, Arlene Rose Crispell, on June 26, 1948, at Brooktondale (N.Y.) Baptist Church. They were blessed with 66 years of loving marriage.

Don was employed in various vocations while serving in his church; he was a dairy farmer, long-distance trucker, and electrical technician at Sears in Ithaca, N.Y. In 1971 God called him to full-time ministry, and he moved to Slater, Iowa, to complete his education, earning a ThB in 1974. He was pastor of Faith Baptist Church, Fort Dodge, Iowa, for five years. For the next 18 years, he served in pulpit-supply ministry in many Baptist churches in Iowa while working as an automotive mechanic at Sears in Ames.

After retirement, he and Arlene moved to Sheridan, Wyo., in 1996 to help in the ministry at Grace Baptist Church. In 2007 they moved to Sac City, Iowa, to serve at Wall Lake Baptist Church. Don loved to study the Bible and teach it to others. He loved to walk in the hills of New York and the mountains of Wyoming. He also loved to play the guitar and sing the old hymns with his family, which he enjoyed until hours before his final illness.

In addition to his wife, Don is survived by his sons, Dale and Ken; daughters, Donna Anderson and Kay; 21 grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren.

Services will be held Friday, Sept. 19 at Otteman Funeral Home, 813 W. Main St., Sac City, IA 50583. Visitation will take place at 1:00 p.m. A funeral service will follow at 2:00 p.m.