Richard "Rick" McMillan

Rick McMillan

We are here today to celebrate the life of Rick McMillan. A loving husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle and friend to many. Rick was a simple man that would do anything for his family and the people that he cared about.   

Rick was born on 10/23/1947 in Denver to Guy and Martha, joining sister Judy. He loved sports from a young age. Before he started playing football and baseball as a young boy, he got a taste when his sister got him a position as the South High School football team’s water boy. He achieved All State Honors at Denver South High School in both football and baseball, and earned a football scholarship to Hastings College. He was also drafted by the New York Yankees in the days of the 3 figure signing bonus. Because of this, he chose college.

In December of 1970, Rick went on a blind date, and met the love of his life, Dianne Young. Wasting no time, they were married April 17, 1971.  A little over a year later, Sean was born, and Erin completed the family in 1976.  In this same year, Rick started his 25 year career at Pepsi.

First and foremost, Rick was a family man.  He loved the Holidays, especially Christmas. When Sean was 3 years old, he wanted a Flint- Mobile for Christmas. Rick and Dianne were going through some tough financial times, so they decided to pawn Dianne’s wedding rings in order to make Sean’s Christmas dreams come true. Of course Rick recovered Dianne’s rings shortly thereafter.

In the Blizzard of 1982, Erin panicked when she saw the snow starting. She had not been to see Santa yet, so Rick braved the storm in a rear-wheel drive Mustang. Needless to say, the car did not make it to Santa, and he carried Erin back home in 3 feet of snow. He promised that he would make sure that Santa knew what she wanted, and sure enough he did.

Rick never hesitated to come to his family’s rescue. When Erin was little, she left her Le Mutt toy at the Black Angus, and didn’t realize it until they were already home. Rick did not like to see his little girl cry, so he drove all the way back in a snow storm, in his not so reliable 57 Chevy. Thankfully, Erin was able to sleep that night.

Rick spent his life doing whatever was necessary to make sure that his family had everything that they needed. He spent several years working two jobs on very little sleep, so Sean and Erin could have a private school education, and live a very happy and comfortable life.  Regardless of how tired he was, or in his later years how sick he was, whatever job he was doing, he did it with pride and dedication.

While Sean and Erin were growing up, Rick and Dianne somehow found a way to take them on trips to Disneyland, Hawaii, and annual excursions to Rick’s favorite spot on earth, Taylor Park, Colorado to stay at the cabin and fish. During this entire time span, Rick continued to feed his love for sports and young people, by coaching. He touched many lives through coaching, and many of you are here today. His calm approach to discipline was not only an effective coaching tool, but provided valuable life lessons to those who were fortunate enough to play for him. He was not one to ever raise his voice or a hand to his players, or his children.  If Rick was mad, you knew that you must have done something pretty bad.

In 1999, Mike Ruth took Rick and Dianne golfing to ask his permission to marry their daughter. His response was that he gave his blessing, but if he ever harmed his daughter, he would kill him.  Mike already shared much of Rick’s love of sports, but will never forget catching his first fish with him at the  age of thirty in Taylor Park.  With the marriage of Mike and Erin, not only did he gain a Son-In-Law, but also a granddaughter Brittany Ann, whom he loved very much. Not long after, the family was extended further when Sean married Marni in April of 2000. Marni still remembers her horror when she accidentally flicked a shrimp into Rick’s eye at a special Del Frisco’s dinner.  In true Rick fashion, he reached up and dramatically removed his glasses, cleaned them and then left a protective napkin over his eye through the rest of the evening.

In 2001, Rick’s first grandchild, Konnor Reid, was born to Erin and Mike. Shortly thereafter came Keegan Michael and Kennedy Dianne. Sean and Marni finally got into the act, with the birth of Reese Ann in 2006. Erin and Mike added one more, when Kody Phillip joined the family in 2009. It would be an understatement to say that Rick’s world revolved around his grandchildren.  

Rick loved all sports, especially NASCAR, the Broncos, and Notre Dame Football. He had the opportunity to drive several laps in an authentic stock car at The Richard Petty Experience. This fulfilled his lifelong dream of driving fast, and as he was constantly teased, turning only left.

As much as Rick loved Notre Dame, he hated Nebraska. Rick and Sean travelled to South Bend in September of 2001, and watched the Irish take on the dreaded #1 ranked Huskers. The Irish may have come up short in overtime, but it was an unforgettable time for father and son.  

Rick and Dianne enjoyed traveling together as well.  A trip to California Wine Country and San Francisco was one of their most memorable.  They also made another trip to Notre Dame, where they enjoyed a victory over Tennessee.  In 2012, they joined Erin and Mike’s family to watch Konnor and Keegan participate in the Notre Dame Youth Football Camp.

Rick was a fixture at his grandkids’ games, as well as his nephews’ Brady and Casey, and continued to coach into the last year of his life.  One of the last weeks of his life was spent in Steamboat Springs, Colorado watching his two oldest grandsons play baseball. The boys will never forget the lessons and infinite wisdom that he was able to share with them. In his last days, he was able to give Kennedy a few softball pitching lessons and to cheer Reese on at her swim meet.

The last four years of Rick’s life were not easy, but he never complained. He lived his life on his own terms and he left on his own terms. He never let his disease define him. True to character, he made the end as easy as possible for all of the people that loved him. He would not want us to leave here today with tears. He would want us to remember him for his smart alack sense of humor, and the countless number of lives that he touched. Thank you all for being here today to help us honor him and celebrate his life.

Visitation will be on Tuesday, August 6th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m..  Mass of Christian Burial will be on Wednesday, August 7th at 9:30 a.m. at All Souls Catholic Church in Littleton.  Interment will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens.

Family and friends are encouraged to share stories and photographs of Rick here on his website. (Click appropriate tab above)