Wanda Paulette Mills

***IMPORTANT****

Due to inclement weather the service for Wanda Mills has been rescheduled for 12:30pm on Sunday, September 29, 2024. The family will receive friends from noon to 12:30pm prior to the service. Thank you for your understanding.

Wanda Paulette Mills, 75, passed away peacefully on Saturday September 21, 2024, at Harris Regional Medical Center. Her family sang softly and held her hands as she left this world behind. Wanda was born on April 4, 1949, in Waynesville, NC, to the late Joseph and Willa Mae Mills. Her family later moved to Jackson County where Wanda lived just down the mountain from her sister in the Ochre Hill community the rest of her life.

Wanda is survived by her sister Nelda Reid, brother-in-law John Reid, niece Cara Reid, and niece Courtney Bond. She is also survived by her nephew-in-law Nathan Bond, and four-year-old great niece Lyla Bond, whom she truly adored.

Wanda loved to be out and about, “living her life,” as she would say, whether that meant traveling to Nova Scotia by train with the late Geraldine Hoyle or taking the Jackson County Transit to Walmart or the library in town. She also had a habit of trying out unconventional modes of transportation – she’s ridden in a sidecar, on a four-wheeler, and once even on a motorcycle, against her best friend Cathy’s wishes.

Wanda was determined to never let cerebral palsy make her life small. She earned an associate’s degree at Southwestern Community College and worked at the Jackson County Tax Office. She wrote and published poetry, and consistently advocated for others with disabilities.

Wanda loved to be surrounded by family and friends, had a wonderful sense of humor, and when she started laughing, she couldn’t stop, and it was impossible not to laugh with her. She attended the Refuge Church of North Carolina and was deeply loved by her community of faith. With the support of her family and friends, Wanda was able to live out her days just as she wanted – in the house she grew up in. And in the family’s grief, it is a comfort to know that Wanda is walking along streets of gold today.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 27, 2024, in the Chapel of Appalachian Funeral Services with Rev. Josh Fields and Rev. Shane Roughton officiating. The family will receive friends from 9:30am until 11:00 a.m. prior to the service at the funeral home. Flowers and condolences will be received at Appalachian Funeral Service which is handling the arrangements, or a donation may be made in Wanda’s memory to Rolling Start, a nonprofit group of car enthusiasts who refurbish donated vehicles that are then given to individuals in need of transportation in Jackson County, NC.