George Mills

George Mills
August 25, 1941 – October 14, 2025

George Adolphe Mills, 84, passed away peacefully on October 14, 2025. He was born in Riverside, California, on August 25, 1941, to his parents, Edgar Mills and Margaret Smith Mills. He attended local schools in Riverside and graduated from Polytechnic High School.

In 1959, he enrolled at UC Riverside, where he majored in physics and played football, baseball, and rugby. It was there that he met his wife, Susan Charters. Following graduation, they were married on June 27, 1964, at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Riverside.

In 1970, the Mills family moved to a small plum farm south of Woodlake in Tulare County. Three years later, the family settled in Three Rivers, California, where they built a home along the Kaweah River that became the heart of family gatherings and celebrations for decades.

George began his career in the aerospace industry in Pasadena, designing rockets for military use. He found little satisfaction in that field, but after moving to Tulare County, he discovered a more constructive opportunity in the agricultural processing sector, where his innovative spirit flourished. As a freelance inventor, he once drew an original design for a fruit-sorting and packing line on a napkin at his kitchen table. That machine revolutionized the citrus industry and came to be used in packing houses around the world.

George founded Electrosort and Kaweah Research, two innovative companies based in Three Rivers. At one time, Electrosort was the largest employer in town with more employees than the local grammar school. Over his lifetime, George was awarded four U.S. patents and one Australian patent for his groundbreaking work in fruit-sorting and processing technologies.

In the family-friendly environment of Three Rivers, George lived life to the fullest. He contributed to community projects and found great pleasure in tending to his riverfront property, swimming, canoeing, and fishing with his family. He loved playing softball and bridge, and as his sons grew up, he became a youth sports coach and enthusiastic fan—attending Woodlake High School football, basketball and baseball games throughout the San Joaquin Valley.

George and his wife, Sue, who passed away in 2015, were devoted supporters of local music. Sue managed the High Sierra Jazz Band, and together they traveled around the world with the group.
George is survived by his sons David Mills (Three Rivers); Gary Mills and his wife, Roselen Mills (Visalia); and Dennis Mills and his partner, Rachel DeHoedt (Woodlake); his four grandsons, Dylan, Aidan, Steven, and Andrew Mills; his adopted granddaughter, Patricia Calabrese; his brother John and wife, Susie Mills; brother- and sister in-laws Evan and Ann Maxwell; nephew Matt Maxwell and niece Heather Maxwell; and numerous cousins.

He was preceded in death by his nephew, Tariq Mills, in 2019.

A service will be held at Three Rivers Community Presbyterian Church on Saturday, November 15 at 1:00 p.m., 43410 Sierra Dr., followed by a gathering at Harrison Hall next to the church. A luncheon will be served.

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