A native of Menominee MI, Mills graduated from the Kent School, from the University of Pennsylvania in 1929, and Columbia in 1934.  He worked for Shreve Lamb and Harmon and William Lescaze before opening his own office in 1937.  During WWII, Mills was a Marine Corps captain serving at Guadalcanal, Guam, Tinian and Okinawa.  He founded Sherwood, Mills & Smith in 1946 in Stamford CT, and designed the St. Mark's Episcopal Church in New Canaan CT among other buildings.  As chairman of the New Canaan Housing Authority, he presided over the city's first construction of housing for veterans after the war. He retired in 1970,  and moved to Chatham MA with his wife, Esther, who died in 1985. Mills died in Chatham MA. Willis and Esther were the parents of Willis Jr., and Matthew (1937-2017).  Both became architects. Matthew Mills was a founding architect at RMW Architects in San Francisco.

1939 - The Willis Mills Sr. House, 650 Frogtown Road, New Canaan CT.  Published in the May 1944 Pencil Points. Sold in 1956 to Alfred Muenchen and in 1962 the existing porch on the east side was enclosed. Sold in 1964 to Norman S. Hewitt.  Sold in 1968 to Lynn Bannister and in 1974 the one car garage was converted to living space and a two-car carport built.  Sold in 2006 to Edward Mellick.

1948 - The Talbot and Claire Rantoul House, 27 Marshall Ridge Road, New Canaan CT. 2.1 acres.  Built shortly after the formation of Sherwood Mills Smith in 1946. Addition in 1949 of a bedroom, bath, and new entrance.  In 1960, a small 10' x 12' studio addition.  In 1961, a swimming pool and a flagstone terrace.  In 1968 the house and 1.1 acres was sold to Robert E. Greer. Harold and Mary Williams  acquired the remaining acre with the swimming pool and studio building, in 1969.  The house sold in 1975 to Zachariah and Mary Ellen Allen. Sold in 1980 to Doris Driver. A small addition was constructed in 1987.  Destroyed around 2006.  Address changed to 37.

1949 - The Jens Risom House, aka Durisol House, 43 Marshall Ridge Road, New Canaan CT. Developed by Robert Jahn.  Risom designed built-in furniture.  The house was built as a showcase for a construction material Durisol, a light-weight pre-cast concrete employing chemically mineralized wood shavings.  In 1954, the original porch was enclosed and the master bedroom was enlarged. Sold in 1959 to Lester and Patricia Brooks when the garage was remodeled into living space, including a bedroom with a bathroom and storage space. A carport and an office, designed by architect Laurent DuPont, added in 1972. Sold in 2021 to Sherman and Peggy Risom Bull, Risom's daughter.  

1950 - The James and Barbara Mills House, 68 Indian Waters Drive, New Canaan CT. Built for a couple with a child who had cerebral palsy. Included a one-story cabin with a bar and a screened porch, destroyed by fire in 1980. House sold in 1963 to Allison P. Cullinan.  Sold in 1980 to Jacob and Bette Chachkes who did a 1992 addition: garage, expanded kitchen, additional living space, a wood deck, and a screened porch, and new windows.

1954 - The Christopher Knoll House, Turtle Back Road, New Canaan CT.  Destroyed.

1956 - The Willis Mills Sr House II, 1380 Ponus Ridge, New Canaan CT.  Awards from Architectural Record and featured in Home and Garden March 1958.  First three photos by Ezra Stoller.  Sold to J. Dukes Wooters. Sold in 1993 to Renee Wilmot. Sold in 1998 to architect Craig Bassam and Christopher Fellows who made renovations including the removal of several interior walls and the replacement of a section of the solid wall on the rear facade with a wall of glass. The original wood decks had rotted and were replaced with new in the same footprint. Wood windows were replaced with steel units and aluminum windows were replaced with aluminum. A new stone-clad garage was added to the north of the house and the original garage was integrated into the living quarters.  Sold in 2007 to James Seuss and Stephen Skowron and transferred the same year to Willis Mills House LLC. Sold in 2018 to Felipe and Mariana Memoria.

Around 1958 - The Buddy Ebsen House, Westport CT.   Status unknown.

1958 - The Anya Seton House, 43 Binney Lane, Old Greenwich CT. Destroyed. Lot renumbered as 45.  

Year unknown - The Willis and Esther Mills House, 80 Tisquantum Road, Chatham MA.  On Morris Island.  Destroyed around 2005. 

WILLIS NATHANIEL MILLS JR. (1933-2020)

Mills was born to architect Willis N. Mills Sr. in New York City and graduated from Kent School. At Princeton he got undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture, then met future wife Betsy who was working in the Princeton art museum and helped with his graduate thesis.  After grad school he served in the Air Force with the rank of Captain. He worked for William F. Pedersen and Bradford Tilney plus Earl P. Carlin in New Haven. He joined his father's firm in 1967 as a partner and took over at his father's retirement in 1970. In 1998 the firm was acquired by Perkins Eastman of NYC and moved to Stamford CT.  He retired to Ponte Vedra FL  Mills was also an amateur and competitive golfer, playing on his college teams and competing in the US National Senior Amateur Championships. He lived between Chatham MA and Ponte Vedra FL.  He and Betsy had four children Nathaniel, Jonathan, Eliza, and David.