Bob Mills

Bob Mills died on 9 November 2026, aged 79. His family announced his death that day in a statement posted on the company's Facebook page and reported by KOKH, KOCO, KCBD and other stations. No cause of death was given.

The statement, signed by Margaret, Bryan, Tuesday and Chris, said: "Bob built more than a furniture company. He built a legacy rooted in hard work, determination, relationships, and a genuine belief in people." It added that he "was incredibly proud of this company, but even more importantly, he was proud of the people who made it what it is today", and reassured staff and customers that Bob Mills Furniture would continue to operate. Funeral and memorial arrangements had not been announced at the time of the reports.

Robert Mills was born on 13 July 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico, to Jim and Lorean Mills. He was their only child. When he was 13 the family moved east to Oklahoma City, where he went to middle school and then Putnam City High School, graduating in 1965.

He studied business and music at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma, and worked his way through college playing saxophone in a rock and roll band. He graduated in 1969 and was later counted among the university's distinguished alumni. His father died when he was 19.

After graduating, Mills took a job as a clerk typist that paid 400 dollars a month. He became friends with an insurance salesman at the office who had once been in the furniture trade and who told him that 25,000 dollars would be enough to get started. Mills persuaded his mother to lend him the money; she agreed, on condition that she was repaid with a return.

On 3 July 1971 Bob Mills Furniture opened at 2625 SW 29th Street in Oklahoma City, in a building that had been a grocery store. Mills was 23. A partner in the early business left in 1972, leaving him to run it alone. In the 1970s he hosted the Bob Mills Furniture Country Show, a local television programme that combined product promotions with live performances by country musicians. He adopted the slogan The Working Man's Friend and became known for his brightly coloured sweaters. In the 1980s the company outgrew its first site and moved to a much larger building on West Reno Avenue.

The chain expanded through Oklahoma and into Texas and Kansas, with stores in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Wichita, San Antonio, Schertz, Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, Temple and Waco. Its twelfth showroom opened in San Juan, Texas, in September 2025. Mills kept the company in family hands and remained a well known name in Oklahoma broadcasting through sponsorships including the Bob Mills SkyNews 9 Chopper and the Bob Mills Weather Center with Griffin Media's News 9 and News on 6.

Mills lived in Oklahoma City with his wife, Margaret. They had three children, Bryan, Tuesday and Chris, all of whom became part of the family business.

He was active in civic and charitable work in Oklahoma City, especially programmes for young people. He supported the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County, including facility improvements and the clubs' annual Jolly Holiday Giveaway of gifts for members, and Bob Mills Furniture received the clubs' Corporate Champion of Youth award. In 2007 he was inducted into the Meinders School of Business Hall of Honor at Oklahoma City University for his contributions to business and the community.

From a single store opened with a loan from his mother, Mills built a business that lasted more than 55 years and reached three states, while his television shows, sponsorships and sweaters made him one of the most recognisable local business figures in Oklahoma. The company remains in the hands of his family, who pledged to run it on the values he set.