Northbrook resident remembered as family man, dedicated community servant
Robert M. MacMillin, devoted to family and friends, to his business and to Northbrook, died early last month just two days past his 85th birthday.
"He was a very helpful person; he'd give you whatever time you needed for something," said one of his three sons, David, who since 1984 worked with his father at MacMillin Hydraulic Engineering Corporation in Skokie.
"If you needed help with something, he was always there to help you. He donated his time to the Northbrook Civic Foundation, to Northbrook Days, to the Northbrook Historical Society, to Arden Shore (Child and Family Services)," said David MacMillin, also of Northbrook.
An Army veteran who saw service stateside during the Korean War, an elder at The Village Church of Northbrook and a former member of the Northbrook Plan Commission, Mr. MacMillin was a past president both of the Historical Society and the Civic Foundation, as well as the Old Willow Club in Glenview.
"He always put the community first. He was always willing to answer any call to service," said Sandy Frum, the recently retired Northbrook Village president.
Four years after the founding of the Northbrook Historical Society in 1974, Mr. MacMillin served a term as president from 1978-80 and remained on the board as past president until June 1982.
"Bob was very instrumental in the beginning of the Historical Society, and part of the crew that made the whole thing happen," said current president Judy Hughes.
"He and his wife, Edna, have had an ongoing relationship with the society. Edna worked in the shop for many, many years. (Bob) was a very nice man," Hughes added.
Edna MacMillin also was chair of the Arden Shore board of directors from 1982-85.
Married 62 years, the MacMillins met while attending New Trier High School.
David MacMillin remembers helping his father clear out wood from the old Crestwood School for use at the Historical Society. While fair and with not too firm of a hand, Mr. MacMillin nonetheless made sure David and his brothers, Douglas and Tom, "were not lazy kids," David recalled.
That's how it went at MacMillan Hydraulic, too, a family business Mr. McMillin took over from his brother, Norman, in 1971.
"An honest day's work for an honest day's paycheck," said David MacMillin, the company's controller and vice president since 1989.
When Norman MacMillin died in 1972, he left three children. Mr. MacMillin took one of them under his wing and gave the high school-aged boy a job maintained for years.
"That's the kind of uncle he was," David MacMillin said.
Born May 5, 1936, in Ohio, Mr. MacMillin was 3 when his family moved to Winnetka. Bob and Edna MacMillin moved to Northbrook in 1963. Mr. MacMillin attended Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
A chef in the Army, his talent to create tasty cuisine from virtually any food found in the kitchen made him a hit not only at home but also on camping trips with family and friends to the Fox River, Wisconsin or Canada.
"We always had good food," David MacMillin said.
As a principal in the Northbrook Civic Foundation, Mr. MacMillin enjoyed long days at the organization's major annual fundraiser, the Northbrook Days Festival.
"He kind of lived for that. He loved Northbrook Days," David MacMillin said.
"As kids we'd just go with him. We'd either run a game, work the food booth or just help him set things up. We'd work the whole week with him, whatever he was doing."
Mr. MacMillin is survived by his wife, Edna, as well as his children, Douglas (Amy), David (Beckie) and Tom (Angela); a brother, David (Mary); and grandchildren Sam, Clayton, Henry, Chloe and Bo.
He is preceded in death by his brother, Norman, and sister, Martha Cull.
Services will be held at The Village Church of Northbrook at 11 a.m. June 16, with a livestream of the service available at villagechurchnorthbrook.org/sermons/.
Memorials may be made to The Village Church of Northbrook, 1300 Shermer Road, Northbrook, IL 60062, or to a charity of choice.