Anne Mills

Anne (Stegos) Mills, MSW, died peacefully in her sleep on Apr. 1st at the age of 91. Anne was born in Trieste, Italy on Nov. 26th, 1923 to Clementine (Fabbro) and Joseph Stegovec. At age 6 "Anna" came to the United States through Ellis Island and her name was changed to Anne Stegos to be more Americanized. The family lived in NY, and Anne became the first member of her family to obtain a college degree, graduating from Hunter College in 1945 with a degree in English. Anne held many interesting jobs, including organizing the Macy Day Parade, teaching at Immaculata College, working for Catholic Charities and the Coatsville VA. She was also a founding member of the Grey Panthers. Anne found her calling in the field of social work, and was the oldest student at that time to graduate with her Masters in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981. Anne was a pioneer in the development of residential housing for persons with mental illnesses. When state hospitals were closing in the early 1980's she was involved with writing the original regulations for licensing personal care homes, and opened homes in lower and central Bucks County. Tri-County Respite had grown to include 2 larger personal care homes, an apartment program, and an outpatient clinic when she retired in the mid 90's. She continued as a consultant for several years and was honored by the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill for her tireless efforts in 1995. She made a difference in many people's lives and brought peace of mind to families. Her legacy continues on today as New Vitae Wellness and Recovery, now run by her son Adam. Anne is preceded in death by her parents, husbands Joseph Devlin and Doug Mills, and beloved dog Chewy. She is survived by her 4 sons and their families: Joseph "Peppi" Devlin, (Emily Berk), daughters Miriam and Trieste "Fizzy" of Montara,CA, Thomas Devlin, MD, PHD, (Carol Gruver, MD), son Christian of Chattanooga, TN, Mark Devlin (Patricia Candido), sons Noah and Rio of Marina del Rey, CA, and Adam Devlin (Donna Helsel), daughters Destiny and Jade of Quakertown, PA. She is also survived by her sister Jean Stegos, who is 99 and lives in Riviera Beach, Florida. Anne loved travelling, and had fantastic trips to Russia, Japan and Italy. She loved to visit her family in California and Tennessee, and especially enjoyed Cape May where she had a home, and West Palm Beach, Florida where she spent many winters. Family and friends will be received for calling hour 12:00-1:00pm on Saturday, April 18th at the Naugle Funeral Home in Quakertown, PA with services following at 1:00pm. Her ashes will be buried with her parents at the St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale,NY. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in her memory to the NAMI Lehigh Valley at 802 West Broad Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018.