William Walter "Smiley" McMillan

William Walter "Smiley" McMillan, 91, of Plainfield, passed away November 14, 2013. He was born February 19, 1922 to the late Dr. Walter Alexis and Mildren Viola (Gardner) McMillan in Capitol Heights, MD, a Washington DC suburb. He was married nearly 57 years to Mrs. Mary Murray McMillan, who predeceased him. They had 5 children, David Barnett, who predeceased them; Elizabeth Anne Reeves-Harrington, of Ft. Worth, TX; Evelyn Cameron of Philadelphia, PA; Louise McMillian of Plainfield; and Donald McMillan of Valparaiso, IN. They had two grandchildren, David Thomas Cummings of Indianapolis and Alexandria Driel Szany of Ft. Worth, TX; and two great grandsons, Tristan Jeffrey Day, and Sergio Alexander Samaniego. Smiley attended Western High School where he graduated tenth out of 493. He was a member of the Honor Society, the French Club and the school orchestra, where he played first violin. He was Lt Col commanding the 4th regiment of the High School Cadet Corps. He won the Corporal and Sergeant in the Manual of Arms contest in successive years. He received a General Engineering degree from George Washington University and a Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering at Purdue University. He worked for the FBI and inducted into the US Navy Seabees during WWII. During the Korean War he was a Lt, USNR in the National Security Agency. He worked for Firestone (Ordinance Div.) and Western Electric companies, where he was responsible for manufacturing over 20,000,000 coils a year. He worked 28 years for Allison Division of General Motors Corp. where he retired as Administrator of Environmental Sciences. He wrote many reports while there. Two major ones are: "Stream Preservation" (how to clean up oil and hazardous materials spills) (which went into a second printing) and "The Hotrod Project" ( a radioactive method of measuring jet engine turbine blade wall thickness). His certifications and memberships include the Registered Professional Engineer in Indiana, Certified Manufacturing Engineers, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Certified Hazardous Materials Manager, Academy of Certified Hazardous Materials Managers (ACHMM). He was an Eagle Scout with two palms. He was Vice President and Director Emeritus of ACHMM. He created and chaired the ACHMM Academy National Recertification Board. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Hazardous Materials Managers. He was Treasurer and President of the ISHMM (Indiana Society of Hazardous Materials Managers).. He was an Able Toastmaster and Treasurer of local chapter. He was a member of the Plainfield Masonic Lodge, 32nd degree, Scottish Rite and a Shriner. He was and active 50 year member of the Plainfield United Methodist Church, serving, during that time, as Secretary of the Church Council; Youth, Adult and General Superintendents, Chairman of the Education Committee and President of an adult Sunday School.He was, for over 25 years, chairmen of the West (later Central) District Board of Church Location and Building, Indiana Conference which approved major church building projects in the Districts (approx. 150 churches). Memorial services will be at 1:00 pm Thursday November 21, 2013 in the Plainfield United Methodist Church, where friends may call on Thursday, from 11:00 am until service time at 1:00 pm. Inurnment will be will be at Maple Hill Cemetery, Plainfield. Contributions may be made to the Plainfield United Methodist Church, 600 Simmons St., Plainfield, IN 46168.