George Mills, former Douglas and Husker County Councilman, stressed the importance of compromise

Mills, a Republican who served on the board from 1995 to 1999, was also a former Nebraska football player during the glory years of the early 1970s. A real estate broker, Mills has written several public service columns for The World-Herald, including on the need for politicians to meet in the middle.

“There is no public policy decision that is just black and white,” Mills wrote. “Collaborative negotiations lead to compromises, which are the basis of good decision-making and are too often left out of the process today.”

He wrote that an example of a successful compromise occurred during county council discussions on how to develop the land occupied by the former Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum and horse racing track. The Ak-Sar-Ben race track closed in 1995 and the arena in 2002. The land was donated to Douglas County.

“As an elected official, I know first-hand the benefits of meeting the other side in the middle to get something done,” Mills wrote. “To the dismay of many horse racing fans, we sold the defunct racetrack to a public non-profit organization. And today the village of Aksarben is a bustling development. The county council has compromised and collaborated with local business leaders and the results speak for themselves.”

Mills, 71, died Nov. 1 while in hospice care in Omaha. A funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday at 11 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 4810 Woolworth Ave. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Diane; sons Aaron, Michael and Adam Mills; brother Dave; and a sister, Kimberly Mills Begley, all of Omaha, as well as five grandchildren.

Mills grew up in South Omaha, attending St. Ann’s Catholic Elementary School near 24th and Poppleton. He graduated from the now-closed Archbishop Ryan Catholic School in 1971 and received a football scholarship to the University of Nebraska.

He played defense from 1971 to 1975 under coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne. Mills earned a bachelor’s degree from Nebraska and a master’s degree in urban studies from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Mills has built a strong reputation selling downtown real estate. His community-minded approach to selling real estate meant he cared less about profit and more about making sure good people could find affordable housing to build their lives, his family said.

“Overwhelmingly, we’ve had a lot of people reach out to us who were former clients of his,” Aaron Mills said Tuesday. “There are so many people who are so grateful for his help in finding their home.”

Mills also wrote two books during his career as an athlete at Nebraska: Go Big Red! in 1991 and “View from the Bench” in 2004. Along with Don Winslow, he also co-wrote the screenplay for the 2002 film “Full Journey.”

Writing was his passion, and in addition to his columns, he was a regular contributor to Public Pulse, his family said. His last column in the newspaper appeared in January of this year.

In February 2018, his right leg was amputated below the knee as a result of Charcot’s disease, also called Charcot arthropathy. It’s a degenerative disease that forced him to learn to walk with a prosthetic lower leg.

Aaron Mills said his father made it his goal to be able to dance at his middle son Michael’s 2019 wedding.

“I remember watching in awe because Dad could dance and it was so amazing,” Aaron Mills said. “He made it a goal to take up dancing as part of his recovery. It was a great example of his grit and determination.”