Robert Russell McMillan, known as "Mac" or "Bob", passed away in the early hours of April 1, 2022, at the age of 89. Bob was born July 27, 1932, in Marshfield Missouri to Harold Wilbur McMillan and Flora Mae Ricketts McMillan. In his formative years, the family loaded their earthly belongings in a small truck and left Missouri in 1937, fleeing the dust bowl. They made their way to Wright, Minnesota, where Bob was raised.
In1950, Bob graduated from Cromwell High School, joined the Minnesota National Guard, and went to work at the Northwest Paper Company in Cloquet. Shortly after, in 1954, he began active duty in the Army and was stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Carson, Colorado.
Texas and Colorado gave him a taste of the West and increased his desire to see Montana and Wyoming, the "true west" to him. Following NCO training in Fort Carson, Bob returned to Minnesota, got a new car, and picked up his younger brother, Steve. They traveled for 21 days through the mountain states all the way to Old Mexico.
In 1956, Bob went to work full time with the Minnesota National Guard serving 11 years in all between the Guard and Army. The same year he returned to the Northwest Paper Company where he met a tall, lovely girl, and future wife, Marion Nynas. They married on July 28th.
August 10th, 1959, marked the beginning of his life as "Mac" with the IBM Corporation and they moved for a short time to Kingston, NY. 1960 brought an opportunity to transfer to Great Falls, Montana working the SAGE data center project at Malmstrom Air Force Base. After the project, Mac remained with IBM in Great Falls as an Account Engineer for northern and central Montana until full retirement in 1998.
He was an avid outdoorsman, gun enthusiast, and collector. His attention to detail and research made him an avid shooter and an ammo reloading master who mentored many. He enjoyed years of hunting the river breaks near Highwood and the coulees of Grass Range.
In 1976, Mac and Marion and their four daughters moved to the Eden area south of Great Falls. Following retirement, they moved from the Eden area to Hamilton, Montana for six years to live near Marion's sister.
They returned to Great Falls and lived for a time in the Belview Palisades area until Marion's death in 2019. Mac lived his remaining years with his daughter, Laureen, on the Ferda Farm north of Highwood and on the prairie he loved.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, visit the Schnider Funeral Home website.
