Milton Van Evera Oakley, 90, of Parkville, Md., formerly of Waldoboro, died July 26 at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson, Md. Milton was born to Walter and Catherine Oakley and raised with his older brother Vincent in Buffalo, Minn. where he was an Eagle Scout and a member of many of the “scoreless wonders” teams of Buffalo High School.
Milton attended Macalaster College in St. Paul, Minn. and graduated from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. While at Antioch he worked in many jobs as part of the college’s famed work/study program, including that of counselor at Gaysville Camp in Vermont where he met Rhoda. They married in 1942 while Milton was serving in the U.S. Army. Following the end of WWII and Milton’s return from duty in the Far East, they settled in York, Penn. where he joined Rhoda’s father and brothers in starting Yorktowne Paper Mills, Inc. and building it over the years into a nationally known and respected manufacturer of paperboard and paperboard tubes and cores. Milton retired from day to day management of the company in 1984 but remained an officer, director and trusted advisor until it was sold by the family in 1997.
From 1968 until 1984 Milton and Rhoda lived in Hallowell and Waldoboro where he managed the company’s operations in this state and where he was also able to pursue his abiding interests in hiking, skiing, rowing, canoeing and small boat sailing. They moved to Baltimore, Md. in 1984 after his retirement but spent many summers thereafter at their coastal cottage in Cushing. Throughout their time together Milton and Rhoda traveled extensively in the Americas and Europe and took two “sabbaticals” to experience day to day life in England and Italy. Wherever they lived, Milton gave freely of his time to local service organizations and activities including the school board, church, YMCA, and Baltimore Neighborhood Association; he belonged to the Universal Unitarian Church of Towson, Md. at the time of his death. Milton read extensively and maintained a lifelong interest in history and politics. With a love and appreciation for word-play and a great capacity for remembering what he read and heard, Milton constantly delighted family and friends with quips, poems, stories and songs appropriate for the occasion.
He was predeceased by his parents and his brother.
He is survived by his loving and devoted family: his wife Rhoda (nee Sparler); children, Eric, Gail and Scott; grandchildren, Christopher and Todd; and great-grandchildren, Benjamin and Simon.
Memorial service in celebration of Milton’s life 11 a.m., Sat., Nov. 28 at the Universal Unitarian Church of Towson, 1710 Dulaney Valley Rd., Lutherville, MD 21093.
The family suggests contributions in his honor to Macalaster College, Development Office, 1600 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105 or to Gilchrist Hospice Care, 555 West Towsontown Center Blvd., Towson, MD 21205.
