Beloved Islander and Scottish “Renaissance man,” Gordon Millar, well-known for more than 40 years of entertaining islanders in numerous productions for Drama Dock, Vashon Opera, and the Burns Supper, died on March 20 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tacoma, of heart failure. He was 86 years old.
Millar’s performances were as varied as they were memorable in Island productions such as the role of the Wizard in the Drama Dock’s “The Wizard of Oz,” the Pirate King in “Pirates of Penzance,” Lord Evelyn Oakley in “Anything Goes,” the Colonel in “Something’s Afoot,” Jacob Marley in “A Christmas Carol,” Froggy in “The Foreigner,” Frosch in Vashon Opera’s “Die Fledermaus,” Lillias Pastia in “Carmen,” Buoso Donati in “Gianni Schicci,” and Anbrogio in “The Barber of Seville.”
He played an important role backstage for many local productions, helping to build sets and gather props for numerous shows.
James Brown, director and conductor of the Vashon Opera, called Millar “one of a kind.”
“He played many memorable character roles for Vashon Opera and will be missed for his wonderful sense of humor and love of life,” Brown said.
Hundreds of Islanders attending the Robert Burns Suppers over many years remember Millar as the event’s master of ceremonies, who never failed to provide a lively program, in which he performed Burns’ “Ode to a Mouse,” in a most hilarious and poignant reading. He loved to sing “Wild Rover” with enthusiastic audience participation and got audience members clapping and stomping their feet.
He played the penny whistle and was a member of the sea shanty group “Sea Fever,” was a founding member of Geordie’s Byre, and other musical groups on the island. He was a saxophone jazz musician at various clubs in Scotland when Sean Connery was a bouncer at one of the clubs! He loved sailing his boat, “Rampant,” and was a lifetime member of the Quartermaster Yacht Club.
Millar served in the Royal Air Force, working as a meteorologist on Salisbury Plain. During this time he was recruited by the crew of Prince Phillip’s sailboat in company of the renowned boat designer and sailor Uffa Fox.
He was a Boeing engineer by trade, brought over from his birthplace of Edinburgh, Scotland when engineers were in short supply in this country. Millar worked on several special projects and was instrumental in developing an aeronautical classification system that is still in use today.
Millar was born before World War II, on July 1, 1935, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and could recall taking shelter during a raid only to emerge to see half his street destroyed. His grandmother, Fanny, was a well-known local herbalist and as a child, Millar learned about the natural world gathering plants and herbs with her. These experiences led him to secure a position as a gardener at Prince’s Street Gardens where he worked while pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Edinburgh.
Millar was often asked why he chose to live on Vashon, and his reply was written in an autobiographical note he left behind.
“I and my three small sons loved playing on the beach…why not find a waterfront home? We found it here on Vashon in the summer of 1977,” he wrote. “I knew very little about Vashon life except that there was an excellent school district and, oddly, I thought that the ferry commute to Boeing each day would be fun. It was, in that I soon met up with fellow Boeing commuters one of whom said to me one day, ‘You would be perfect for a part in a play that Drama Dock is going to be doing!”
This Boeing friend’s name was Rich Wiley, a well-known and long-time actor on Vashon. They would perform together for many years.
“When I retired from Boeing in 1995, I was looking forward to a relaxed life of sailing, rowing, walking in the woods…but then I got to fulfill a long-time wish — to be a teacher! And so I became a para-educator at Mc Murray Middle School and spent some of the most rewarding years of my life working with special needs kids,” Millar wrote.
His time at McMurray and the Harbor School included coaching students in Math Olympics and privately as a math tutor.
In addition to everything else, Millar was a curling enthusiast, animal lover rescuing several dogs and cats to live a better life as a new family member. He was a collector of shells, fungi, apple parers, and Mexican collectibles, some of which were detailed in a film for Granny’s Attic about collectibles.
Millar was a storyteller as well, and would recall with glee when he got bitten by the Queen’s Welsh corgis. He attended many galas at the Lord Mayor of London’s estate with his best friend Roger Miller, where he recalled dancing with royalty from Spain.
However, the best story he told was of how he and his wife Patricia met at a Christmas Eve party in 2002, on Vashon. After Patricia commuted for a year from Hawaii and the East Coast to Vashon, Millar asked for Patricia’s hand in marriage, and they lived happily ever after, spending wonderful days on Vashon and their home on Lummi Island.
Millar leaves behind three sons, Sean, Casey, and Rory; and three grandsons Christopher, Jonathan and Isaac; his wife Patricia Kelly; their furry companions Chloe and Rowan; and many Vashon and Lummi Island friends.
A celebration of life will be held at the Bethel Church from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, April 30. Donations may be made in his remembrance to Vashon Island Pet Protectors.
