Kittery, ME - Lenore Rae "Noni" Dinsmore Mills, 88, of Kittery, Maine and Shelburne, Vermont, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and child of God died peacefully on May 27, 2019. Her husband of 55 years was by her side. Born in Portland, Maine to Wallace and Madeleine (Longway) Dinsmore, she enjoyed a happy childhood in Rumford, Maine, attending Chisholm School and graduating from Stephens High School in 1949.

She then pursued her singing, dancing, and acting career in New York City, and traveled around the country with a variety of touring theater companies and summer stock theater productions. Eventually, she returned to Rumford to help run her mother's dance studio. On one fateful summer day, she begrudgingly agreed to a blind date to waterski with another begrudging participant named Ronald, partly because anyone willing to go water skiing on a blind date couldn't be all bad! To both skiers' surprise, the date was a grand success and ended up lasting well over half a century.

Ron and Lenore married and eventually settled in Kittery, where they raised their family, developed many deep friendships, and became beloved members of their community. Noni volunteered in the music program of Kittery schools and was a very active member of the First Congregational Church of Kittery Point (UCC). Once her children were in school, Noni opened her own dance studio and offered a wide variety of classes, including ballet, tap, jazz, and tumbling. This studio, combined with her ability to see greatness in every person, allowed many to see greatness in themselves. So many were impacted in a positive way by Noni both inside and outside the dance studio.

Her family, and the friends she considered to be family, were the center of her life. Having grown up as an only child, her greatest wish was to have a big family. Once all three of her children were married (to people she considered perfect choices), she loved to declare that she finally had the six children she always wanted! She was known as "Mimi" to her grandchildren, and they always brought a huge smile to her face, whether she was quietly reading a book with one of them or joyfully overseeing the chaos when they were all together!

Lenore is survived by her adoring husband, Ronald Mills, her children and their spouses: Wallace Mills and his wife Theresa of South Berwick, ME; Deirdre Mills Goldenbogen and her husband Kevin of Charlotte, VT; and Raymond Mills and his wife Rachel Andron of Port Washington, NY, along with seven grandchildren (Kimberly, Danielle, Owen, Samson, Simon, Ezra, and Zamir) and one soon-to-be grandson-in-law (Tyler).

The family wishes to thank the medical teams at Kittery Family Practice, York Hospital and the UVM Cancer Center, as well as the amazing staff at Mansfield Place, the Residence at Shelburne Bay, and the Arbors at Shelburne, all of whom made Lenore's final years ones of joy and comfort.

A celebration of her life will be held at 10AM on Monday, June 17 at the First Congregational Church of Kittery Point, 23 Pepperrell Rd, Kittery Point, Maine.

In lieu of flowers, please honor Lenore by being kind to everyone you meet today, make a donation to a charity that strives to make the world a kinder place, or both.

Care of the Mills Dinsmore family has been entrusted to J S Pelkey Funeral Home