Douglas Stuart Milligan, loving husband, father and community leader, passed away in Berne on October 24, 2026. He was 89.

Doug was predeceased by his wife, Judy (LeFavour). They were married 63 years before she passed in 2023. He leaves behind his son David Milligan (Dawn) of rural Portland, daughter Barbara Milligan of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, six grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.

Born in Portland on August 26, 1937, he was the oldest son of Dr. William and Mary (White) Milligan. He was predeceased by his brothers, Bill and Greg Milligan, but is survived by a half-sister, Karen Money Williams of Florida.

Doug was a devoted Boy Scout throughout his youth, becoming an Eagle Scout in 1953. Attending Portland High School, Doug captained the football team and played trombone in the marching band. Music was a life-long interest. In the 1950s, Doug marched with the Comets Drum and Bugle Corp and throughout the 1960s and 1970s, played in the dance band “The Starlighters.”

Graduating from International Business School in 1959, much of Doug’s career was spent at the Jay Garment Company in Portland where he worked for 25 years, rising to the rank of President. After leaving the Jay Garment Company, Doug held several “retirement” jobs including Development Director for Jay Randolph Development Services, Town Clerk and Town Manager for the Town of Geneva, and Director of Swiss Heritage Village in Berne.

Doug had a passion for serving the communities in which he lived. In Portland, Doug served as President of the Little League, Jay County Band Boosters, Jay County Fair Board, Portland Lion’s Club and Portland Community Foundation. He was the founding President of the John Jay Center for Learning and helped spearhead restoration of the Weiler Building to house the campus. Doug also served as Elder, Deacon and Trustee of the First Presbyterian Church and as a board member of the Portland Chamber of Commerce, and Jay County Development Corporation. In 1998, Doug was named Citizen of the Year by the Portland Chamber of Commerce.

After retiring and moving to Geneva, Doug turned his attention to improving his new hometown where he served as the Town’s Clerk/Treasurer and organized restoration of an historic building for use as the new town hall and community center. In 2006, Doug was the founding president of South Adams Trails. He also served the boards of the Rainbow Lake Association, the Adams County Foundation and the Adams County Economic Development Corporation. Doug was named Citizen of the Year by the Geneva Chamber of Commerce in 2007 and later received a lifetime achievement award.

In 2003, Doug was named a Distinguished Hoosier by then Governor Frank O’Bannon.

The funeral will be held on Saturday October 31st at 2:00 PM in the Swiss Village Retirement Village auditorium, 1350 Main Street, Berne. Visitation will be from 1:00 – 2:00 PM in the auditorium. Burial will be in the Green Park Cemetery in Portland. Baird-Freeman Funeral Home in Portland are handling the arrangements.

Memorial donations may be made to the Portland Foundation, 107 S. Meridian Street, Portland, IN, 47371 or to South Adams Trails, PO Box 122, Berne, IN 46711.

Online condolences at www.bairdfreeman.com