David and Ditty McMillan

Margaret (Ditty) Steinbring McMillan (90) passed away on May 9, 2018, followed four days later by her husband, David McMillan (91), who died on Mother’s Day. They were long-time residents of Delaware, but also resided in Earleville, MD and West Grove, PA.

Mr. McMillan was the son of the late J. Gordon McMillan and Miriam Fell McMillan and is survived by his brother, James G. McMillan. Mrs. McMillan was the daughter of the late Edward F. Steinbring and Helen J. Steinbring and is predeceased by her sister Carol Steinbring McMillan (2008).  They are also survived by three sons—David (Debbie), John (Anne) and Carl (Susan)—eight grandchildren—Sam, Kyle, Colin, Cary, Scott, Hunter, Emily, Jon—and three great grandchildren. Additionally, they had two informally adopted sons: Andrew Schrank (Nancy) and David Stratton (Sue).

Mr. McMillan had a long and influential career in Delaware banking. He joined Security Trust Company in 1951. The bank became part of Equitable Security Trust Company in 1952 and later changed its name to Bank of Delaware. He was named Assistant Treasurer in 1952 and Assistant Vice President in 1959 while serving as manager of the Newark Shopping Center branch. Following six months in 1962 as a Brookings Institution Public Affairs Fellow in Washington D.C., Mr. McMillan was transferred to the Commercial Loan Department in Wilmington. He was promoted to Vice President in 1967 and became Senior Vice President and Senior Loan Officer in 1974. He was named Executive Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors in 1977, and President and Chief Operating Officer of the Bank of Delaware in 1980. He retired in 1987.

The Delaware native was a graduate of Claymont High School; Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut; and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University. He was a U.S. Army veteran.

Mr. McMillan was a member of the Board of Directors of The Children’s Bureau of Delaware, the Delaware Association for the Blind and the YMCA of Delaware. He was President of the YMCA from 1983 to 1986, during which time the YMCA of Delaware became the first statewide YMCA in the United States. He served on the Delaware Supreme Court’s Board on Professional Responsibility and was named by former Governor Pierre S. du Pont IV to the Delaware Economic Authority’s Council on Industrial Finance. He was also a Director of Christiana Ventures, Inc. (a Bank of Delaware affiliate), W.L. Gore and Associates, Inc., Retirement Living, Inc., and James T. Mullin and Sons, Inc.

He was a member and Vestryman at The Church of the Ascension in Claymont, Vice President and Chairman of the Trustees of the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware and a chairman of the Committee on the Advance and Development Funds, Episcopal Diocese. He was a member of the Wilmington Country Club and the Wilmington Club.

Mrs. McMillan was a graduate of Wilmington Friends School and Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ. She was a long-time member of the Memorial Hospital Junior Board, serving as President from 1980 to 1982. More recently, Mrs. McMillan continued as a Christiana Care Junior Board volunteer at Pelleport, Christiana and Wilmington hospitals. She also gave time to Rockwood Museum in their gift shop. She was a member of the Wilmington Country Club and The Church of the Ascension, Claymont.

Mr. and Mrs. McMillan, David and Ditty, were lifelong partners who led lives of significance in Delaware. They were loved by their family, cherished by friends, respected by colleagues and will be remembered fondly by all they touched during their journey together through life.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00AM on Wednesday May 23rd at The Church of the Ascension, 3717 Philadelphia, Pike, Claymont, Delaware.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the church.