Keele University is sad to report the passing of Dr Steve Mills, who has died aged 74 after battling pancreatic cancer.

Steve was born in Yorkshire and first came to Keele as an undergraduate student in the 1960s, studying American Studies and Geography. After graduating he continued his studies in Historical Geography at the University of Maryland and taught in Virginia and in Maryland before returning to Keele in 1976 as a lecturer in American Studies, and was later promoted to senior lecturer.

He taught across the spectrum of American Studies, including Cultural Geography and Film and tackled current topics as wide apart as the death penalty and Disney. He was also a resident tutor in Hawthorns Hall. While Senior Lecturer, he was part of the high performing department awarded the top score for teaching and research quality in a TQA in 1997/98.

Steve remained at Keele until his retirement in 2009; however, he was a research fellow at the David Bruce Centre until 2014. He was also a visiting tutor in history at Ruskin College, in Oxford.

Described by former colleague Mike Tappin as a 'true Americanist' and 'the last of the Keele breed as a true University person', Steve met his wife, Nina, at Keele, and the couple celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at the beginning of the year.

Nina said: "He was a firm believer in the founding principles of Keele and the multi-disciplinary approach to studies, and he carried that through his whole life and career. He was a very generous person with his knowledge and he loved teaching and seeing students grow and flower, and helping those who perhaps lacked self-esteem and self-worth. He remained in contact with some of his students, and we’ve received messages saying how supportive Steve was when they were undergraduate students at Keele.

"Steve strongly believed in students experiencing other education systems, and he did a lot to promote exchange programmes for Keele students, especially in Canada and the United States. Our holidays would often involve Steve visiting a university that was in the exchange programme, or one that wasn’t part of it yet, but he perhaps thought we should be sending people there, and he wanted to check it out. American Studies and American landscape were always his interest and passion."

A published author in his field, Steve was also on the editorial board of the journal Landscapes and editor of the British Association for American Studies Newsletter. Outside of academia, he enjoyed hill walking, film and theatre and was a supporter of the Lichfield & Hatherton Canal Restoration Trust.

Steve is survived by his wife and their two children and four grandchildren, alongside two honorary children and five honorary grandchildren and his sister and family.

His funeral will take place at Bradwell Crematorium, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, at 12pm on Tuesday, May 21, followed by a reception in the Salvin Room, at Keele Hall.

The family are inviting donations in Steve's memory to The Christie Hospital in Manchester, Pancreatic Cancer UK, Macmillan Cancer Support and Maggie's.