Lueella Milling

LueElla McGhee was born on October 13, 1945 in the town of Mathews, Bullock County, Alabama to George and Mary McGhee. LueElla was one of eleven, being the youngest of seven sisters: Mary, Georgia Mae, Cary, Bessie, Mamie Lee, and Bertha, and having four brothers: James, George, Leon, and Alfonzo. In her youth and throughout her life, Luella prioritized and maintained strong bonds with her siblings. In 1963, Luella graduated from Carver high school in Union Springs Alabama. An ambitious woman, shortly after graduation she moved to the Northeast for new opportunities. She briefly resided in Queens, New York, working as a live-in housekeeper, before relocating to Hartford, CT where she invested the rest of her years to build a life for herself and her family.

On New Year’s Day 1965 she married George Milling, a man who like herself relocated from the south to Connecticut. Luella continued to be a busy woman in the 1960’s, having three children: Jacqueline Yvette, Darryl MacArthur, and Patrick George. She raised them to be resilient and to look out for one another, a testament to her virtues, and something she wants to live-on in her children and grandchildren. LueElla worked hard to provide for her family, working at Pratt and Whitney early on in her career, but made a name for herself at Northeast Utilities as Data Processes Supervisor for 25 years. She was serious about her vehicles, purchasing a Datsun in 1973, and purchasing a new Lexus around the time of her retirement. In February of 1990 she purchased a house in Hartford, CT. More than just a place to live, it was home to many upbringings, holidays, and several memories.

Luella was a cultured woman. She was known for her cooking; making Thanksgiving Day the most important holiday of the year. She loved to make baked mac and cheese, spare ribs, collard greens, and fried fish. She was an avid sports fan, originally following the Dodgers, and over time expanding her love of her sports to football, basketball, and tennis. All of us knew where to find my grandmother during a Williams sisters tennis match or a UConn men’s and women’s basketball game. She also loved music, enjoying Teddy Pendergrass, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and Diana Ross. She was a woman of class, and style, and had a strong personality. Much like her laugh, her personality was one of a kind, and you always knew where she stood w9th you, but it was never without love. As her life went on, she was proud to see her children graduate high school, marry, and have children of their own. And she happy to see her grandchildren succeed in life, especially as a woman from a time and place where those opportunities were not in abundance.

LueElla Milling went home to be with the Lord on February 4, 2023, surrounded by family. She leaves behind one sister, one brother, three children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held on February 18, 2023 at Erickson-Hansen Funeral Home, 411 S. Main St., New Britain, CT