A Tribute to One of Our Founders, Bob Mills

Bob had a passion to help cancer patients, to reduce their suffering, and keep others from experiencing it. He saw cancer firsthand, being a cancer survivor himself, and watched other family members face it. Gala of Hope continues his fight against cancer and will pay him the highest honor to continue his vision to send cancer in the Dayton region into the sunset. 

Bob was born August 16, 1949 in Erie, Pennsylvania, to the late Ruth and Robert Mills, Sr. Bob and his first wife, Marcy, were married for 39 years before she passed of cancer in 2009. He is also preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by his devoted wife Barbara, daughters Janel (Jerad) Barnett; Melissa (Gavin) Spencer; step-daughter Sarah (Ben) Battaglia; step-son Alex Briggs; grandchildren Ally, Evan, and Carly Barnett, Owen, Mason, and Camden Spencer, Annie, Margot and Teddy Battaglia; sister Connie (Garth) Hess and many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and colleagues. There is nothing that Bob loved more than his family. 

While Gala and our board will miss Bob deeply, the Dayton region is comforted by his legacy of caring as a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend and by the continuing impact of his decades of servant leadership, philanthropy and business excellence throughout the Dayton region and Ohio. Bob Mills was a self-made success and recognized leader in this community known not only for his business acumen, but also for his philanthropy. He worked his way through Gannon University, earning a Business Management degree. Then over 40 years ago, Bob moved his family to the Dayton region to launch his own company - with just $200 in his pocket. His entrepreneurial spirit provided the foundation for his construction company, Synergy Building Systems, and real estate development firm, Mills Development. 

While building over a billion dollars of commercial space and providing jobs for many, Bob learned the value of philanthropy and giving back to his community. Bob held a special place in his heart for his hometown of 40 years, the City of Beavercreek and Greene County, sponsoring just about every sports team and community event possible. 

Bob loved supporting others who took the entrepreneurial path and continued to provide funding and mentoring to many of the region’s small startups. He also gave of his time, having generously served on more than a dozen corporate and not-for-profit boards in this region over the last 30 years. These include Greene Memorial Hospital, Grandview Hospital Foundation, National Museum of the U. S. Air Force, Dayton Development Coalition, Wright State University Foundation, Homecroft, Inc, and as the co-founder and former Board Chair of Michael’s House, a children’s advocacy center in Greene County.

Bob was especially proud of his contributions to pave the way for construction of the Indu and Raj Soin Medical Center in Beavercreek and the Mills Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at Dayton Children’s Hospital in honor of his granddaughter and leukemia survivor, Ally. Together with his family, he created the Mills Family Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission focus as a regional resource to help “Support Women and Children in Need”. Bob and Barbara also sought to create a legacy to send cancer into the sunset and created Gala of Hope Foundation. 

Over the years, Bob has been recognized by organizations like the Dayton Regional STEM School; the Beavercreek Chamber of Commerce; Wright State University; the American Cancer Society; and by the national Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as its 2010 National Man of the Year for which Bob set a record raising just under $500,000 while his granddaughter, Ally, was battling leukemia. Bob was recognized by the Family Violence Prevention Center of Greene County with the Outstanding Community Service Award for his service to Victims of Crime. Bob was honored to be a recipient of the Mathile Community Award and recognized by The Presidents Club of Dayton’s as the 2017 Citizen Legion of Honor recipient. In 2019, he and his wife, Barbara, were also honored by the Dayton Business Journal as the publication’s Regional Leaders of the Year award.