Richard Leroy Millett, age 85, of Marine, IL, born September 25, 1938, in Providence, RI, passed away peacefully on Monday, December 25, 2023, at Anderson Hospital, Maryville, IL, surrounded by his loving family.
Majoring in history, Richard graduated with an A.B. from Harvard College in 1960 where he was a member of Kirkland House. His Senior Thesis on the 1925 United States Intervention in Nicaragua launched a 65-year career in Latin American history and military studies. He obtained his PhD in history from the University of New Mexico in 1966. His doctoral dissertation became his first book: “Guardians of the Dynasty: A History of the U.S. Created Guardia National de Nicaragua and the Somoza Family”. As the Nicaraguan Revolution widened in 1978-79 and the Somoza family was overthrown, Richard’s expertise on Nicaragua was widely employed by both media outlets and the United States Congress. He went on to advise US military groups, State Department officials, and other government personnel on many Latin American issues over the ensuing decades. Richard has published/edited several books on Latin America and his articles have appeared in Foreign Policy, The Wilson Quarterly, and numerous other professional journals. He was vice president of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations St. Louis Committee and a member of the board of the American Committees on Foreign Relations. He was also a board member and past vice president of the Inter-American Defense College Foundation. Richard has appeared on every major national TV network, testified before the U.S. Congress on 19 occasions,and participated in election supervision in four nations.
Richard’s first love, though, was teaching. He taught history and Latin American studies for 33 years at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville and retired as Professor Emeritus in 1999. He was a mentor to many young scholars, helping them make professional contacts in Latin America and in the United States government and advising them on areas that needed further scholarship. He served on countless master’s theses and PhD dissertation committees during his long teaching career. He won 2 teaching Fulbright Fellowships. The first one involved teaching in Colombia in 1981. The second Fulbright Fellowship allowed him, in 2007, to serve as the Distinguished Chair of American Studies in Denmark. He was presented the William J Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education from the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies in 2014. Ricgard also held the Brigadier General H.L. Oppenheimer Chair of Warfighting Strategy at the U.S. Marine Corps University in 2000 and 2001.
Richard loved traveling the world and was nearing his goal of visiting 100 countries. He was a devoted Chicago Cubs fan since his childhood in Southern California. He had a gift for bringing people together. Richard was a man of deep Christian faith and, during the pandemic, he started a Sunday afternoon Zoom group on living our faith in this changing world. That group’s participants came from all over the globe. Richard was an exceptionally gregarious man, who leaves behind legions of friends across the globe. When he was your friend, he remained your friend for life. Some of his deepest friendships were formed in grade school and continued long into adulthood.
Richard is preceded in death by his parents, Leroy Franklin Millett and Clara (Denham) Millett; his first wife, Nina Fish; his son, Lawrence Millett; a father-in-law, Davorin Carr; and brothers-in-law, Blaine Pendley and Robert Sammelman.
He is survived by his wife, Denice (Carr) Millett; two daughters: Patricia (Robert King) Millett of Alexandria, VA, and Joan Millett of Marine, IL; a stepson, Jon Taylor of Troy, IL; sister Barbara Pendley of Gettysburg, PA; daughter-in-law, Jodie Rai of Clayton, MO; grandchildren Richard (Sabina) Millett, Matthew Millett, Claire Millett, David King, Elizabeth King, Ashlei (Joaquin Arana) Taylor, Courtnie Taylor, and Lian Taylor; one great grandchild Neil Millett; mother-in-law, Marilyn Carr; sisters-in-law, Deborah Carr, Dana (Charles) Hutchings, Deanna Sammelman; brother-in-law, David (Lillian) Carr; nieces Kristen (David) Nelson, Jill (Collin) Neeman, Brittany (Tyler) Picha, Johanna Carr; nephews David Carr, Eric Radake; great-nephews Jacob, Harry, and Sam Nelson; great-nieces Demi Picha and Caroline Neeman.
A memorial service was held at the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Center for Spirituality and Sustainability (formerly known as the Religious Center) on January 20, 2024. Memorials may be made in Richard’s name to the MidWest Association for Latin American Studies (Dr. Richard Millett Scholarship), https://www.malasnet.org/scholarship-program, or to World Vision, Inc., P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, WA 98063, https://www.worldvision.org. Alternatively, donations to those same organizations may be mailed directly to Barry Wilson Funeral Home, 2800 N. Center Street, Maryville IL 62062.
Adapted from the obituary appearing on the Barry Wilson Funeral Home website.
