Col. Christopher Millson Jr.

Col. Chris Millson, Jr., (Ret.) died November 2, 2024, at the age of 93 following a brief illness.

Chris Millson Jr. was born July 7, 1931, in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York. After graduating high school in Oakhurst, New Jersey, he attended Rutgers University, studying Political Science and where he met his beloved wife Judith Neff. They married in August, 1953, and then departed for Bartow, Florida where, as a second lieutenant in the United State Air Force, he began his pilot training.

His career shifted when he was assigned as an intelligence officer in Frankfurt Germany. That career continued in The Hague, Netherlands, where he was involved in debriefing and reporting on our assets in Communist Eastern Europe.

After the 1960 U-2 incident, when American Pilot Francis Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union, the Air Force increased its focus on developing space-based intelligence technology. They selected Capt. Millson to pursue additional technical training at Arizona State University, where he received a second bachelors degree, this one in engineering.

While working in intelligence with the Foreign Technology Division at Wright-Patterson AFB, he was assigned to the now declassified Corona Program. His final assignment was Chief, Special Projects in the Defense Intelligence Agency, designing and implementing a facility for coordination of intelligence assets. He was awarded a Legion of Merit and Air Force Meritorious Service Medal among other awards. After retiring from the Air Force in 1976, he continued his career as a project manager for IBM. This eventually brought him to Highlands Ranch, CO where he and Judy loved the view of Mt. Evans from their back window.

Chris’s military career gave him and Judy the opportunity to live in and explore many parts of the world. Following his second retirement from IBM in 1991, Chris and Judy found enjoyment exploring the Colorado that they had grown to love. They also cherished traveling across the country to visit their four children and their growing families.

His devoted wife Judy predeceased him in 2020,as did his daughters Amy Pinkerton and Gay Whitney Millson eight years earlier. He is survived by his sons Chris (Cathie) and Peter (Donna) as well as eleven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors in the spring of 2026. Chris will be remembered as a loving husband, father and grandfather, a talented self-taught musician, a high-achieving

intelligence officer, a skilled pilot, and a man of many accomplishments.