Edward F. MacMillan

Edward F. MacMillan, a longtime, well-known international hotelier, died on September 16 in Charleston SC.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Kathleen, and the 10 children he raised and supported.

Ed arrived on this earth the week of the stock market crash in 1929 and his experiences as a child during the US Depression of 1929-39 shaped the education and career he chose in the Hotel and Real Estate Industry. He was the son of Canadian Immigrants; born the 2nd son of an RCMP father , a combat veteran of WW1 and a schoolteacher mom. He was Valedictorian of the Class of 1946 at Everett High and joined the US Army in the same year, becoming a WW2 era veteran. He married Ruth Silvey in 1948 and became a Dad in 1949 with the birth of his son Dennis.

Starting as Assistant Manager of the Forest Glen Inn in North Conway and graduating Summa Cum Laude from UNH Hotel school; Ed rose from Residential Manager of Sheraton Hotels in Providence and Cleveland to General Manager of the International Inn in Washington DC , and served on many boards there while his children attended Catholic and military schools. He moved onto American Airlines in the 1970s as a Vice President, running Sky Chefs and eventually all their overseas hotels in exotic and faraway places. The absences these jobs created and the loss of his firstborn child, Dennis, in 1968 ultimately led to the loss of his first marriage.

He married Kathleen McCaffrey in 1981, working as partners and helping to raise her 2 sons, Brian and Kevin, while continuing to advance in the Hospitality and Real Estate Industry. He was the Developer/ Builder of the Hilton Garden Inn at Arlington Court House, Virginia. He authored and published a novel called Turbulence relying on his career to develop the story.

His children will always remember him for the good times we spent together skiing, playing basketball, touch football, ping pong, and pool. His friends and acquaintances will remember him for the courtesies he extended in his hospitality career.