Greenville Seminary Commemorates Millie Van Voorhis
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary acknowledges with heartfelt sympathy and gratitude the passing to Glory of Mildred "Millie" Van Voorhis, who went home to be with her Lord on Thursday, February 18, 2010.
Millie and her husband John H. Van Voorhis, a seminary trustee and former board chairman, have been stalwart supporters of Greenville Seminary since its creation in 1987. Millie generously gave of her time, talents and resources in service to the seminary in the name of her Lord. She organized volunteers and provided hospitality for seminary visitors on many occasions, among her many devoted services.
The seminary named its John and Millie Van Voorhis Board Room following a gift from the Van Voorhis family at the time she and John celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2007. A commemorative plaque has recently been fixed near the board room entrance, and a portrait of the Van Voorhises is being prepared for display there.
Millie was born in 1933 in Mecklenburg County, N.C.; grew up in Davidson, N.C.; graduated from East Carolina University in 1955; and taught in public schools in North Carolina and Georgia. Since her marriage in 1957, she has lived in the Atlanta, Ga., Washington D.C., Charlotte, N.C., and Philadelphia, Pa., areas and, for the last 30 years, in Greenville.
She was a member of the local Bethany Christian Services board. When that agency decided to open an international adoption service, she became a staff worker with primary responsibility for developing South Carolina's first international adoption program. After retirement from Bethany, an opportunity to serve as a staff worker with Piedmont Lutheran Homes in Greer, S.C. arose, and she became a part-time social worker for several years. Though her public service was greatly satisfying, her deepest reward came with her role as wife, mother and grandmother.
Millie was an active member of Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville for about 25 years. When her husband decided to explore possibilities for working with a smaller congregation needing encouragement, she joined Covenant Community Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Taylors, S.C. in 2006 and was happy to see that church become organized, purchase property and call a pastor.
She was diagnosed with bladder cancer in the summer of 2009. In November, she was diagnosed with liver cancer and at that time decided not to pursue additional treatment.
Millie's earthly remains were to be buried at Maple Grove Cemetery in Worcester, N.Y., where four generations of the Van Voorhis family are interred. A memorial service was held on February 27, 2010 at Second Presbyterian Church, Greenville, with the Rev. Peter Van Doodewaard of Covenant Community Church officiating.
John noted his wife's death in this way: "The Scripture verse which keeps coming to me, as her husband of over 52 years, is: 'The woman who feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.' While Millie never sought praise for herself, feeling she was unworthy, I have no qualms about praising her as the Lord's gift to me in being a godly, faithful, loving wife for over half a century. What a blessing!"
At the memorial service John added, "She would not want us to laud and praise her – she did not want that attention for herself, but would want you all to know of Jesus."
Surviving are her husband John; their four children and eleven grandchildren, Dr. Timothy Van Voorhis, his wife, Stacey, and five children, Charles, Olivia, Thomas, Will and Daniel of Lynchburg, VA; Samuel Van Voorhis, his wife, Julie, and children, Anna and Ethan of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL; Julia Monafo and son, Cameron, of Chesterfield, VA; and Elizabeth Rosser, her husband, Andrew, and children, John, Benjamin and Emily of Bendigo, Australia. Also surviving are a brother, the Rev. J. Paul Lipe, and his wife, Linda, of Delhi, LA; a sister, Margie Caldwell, and her husband, Robert, of Mooresville, NC; a sister-in-law, Mary Smartt, and her husband, the Rev. Kennedy Smartt, of Chestnut Mt., GA; and a sister-in-law, Phyllis Van Voorhis, of Duanesburg, NY. Millie's parents, Arthew and Julia Hobbs Lipe of Davidson, NC and a sister, Elizabeth Lipe Donaldson, predeceased her.
The family requests that memorial gifts be made to Greenville Seminary, P.O, Box 690, Taylors, SC 29687; Covenant Community Church, 418 E. Main Street, Taylors, SC 29687; or Interim Hospice, 16 Hyland Road, Greenville, SC 29615.