Dorothy Lee (Horton) Mills

 Dorothy Lee Mills was born April 22, 1931, in Huntersville, North Carolina, to the late Will Horton and Louise Belle Carr-Horton. She was one of seven children, five girls and two boys—and grew up in the family home with her parents and grandfather, the late Thomas Horton, who lived to be 102 years old.

 Dorothy was educated in the Mecklenburg County School System. She attended Ada Jenkins Elementary School in Davidson, North Carolina, and graduated from Torrence-Lytle High School in Huntersville, North Carolina. She continued her education at Barber- Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina, and later at City College in Manhattan, New York.

 Dorothy lived in New York City for many years, where she met and married her sweetheart from college, the late Jerry Lee Mills. To this union, one son, Jerry Lee Mills, Jr. was born he died at a young age. Dorothy and Jerry relocated to Dayton, Ohio, where they lived for a few years before moving back to Hollis, New York.

 Dorothy was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, where she attained Worthy Matron status and served for seven years in Long Island, New York. She was the first Black female Lieutenant police officer in Hollis, New York and was also a licensed real estate agent in New York. Dorothy retired from the VA Hospital in Bronx, New York, in 2005.

After retiring, Dorothy moved back to Davidson, North Carolina, to be a caregiver for her father.  Upon her return Dorothy rejoined the family’s home church, Gethsemane Baptist Church of Lake Norman. Here she served in the pastor’s aide and missionary ministry. Dorothy was recognized as the Mother of the Church and Church Deaconess. 

Dorothy joined the Mooresville-South Iredell Chapter 3224 of AARP Mooresville, North Carolina, and served as president for eight years. She was always energetic and eager to help others, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in Cornelius, North Carolina, until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Dorothy was a person who loved to go out of her way to cheer others on. She served in Baptist, Catholic, and Lutheran churches, holding many positions as she helped others across different denominations. She loved her church, her family, and her friends, but most of all, Dorothy loved the Lord. Bible study was one of her favorite activities. She always liked smelling and looking beautiful for the Lord. Thank you, Lord, for blessing our family with a rose named Dorothy.

Those who preceded Dorothy in death include her grandparents, Larry Carr, Hattie Tillman-Carr; her parents, Will Horton and Louise Belle Carr-Horton; her husband, Jerry Lee Mills; her son, Jerry Lee Mills, Jr.; and her siblings, Hattie Catrina Horton, Robert Edward Horton, and Catherine Horton-Livingston.

Those loved ones who will cherish Dorothy’s memory include her siblings Willie Addis Blanch Horton-West, Lois Eva Horton-Mitchell (Reverend Thomas Mitchell) and Douglas McArthur Horton (Ariah), along with a host of nieces, nephews, family, and friends.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dorothy Lee (Horton) Mills, please visit our floral store.