Bob Mills, Oklahoma furniture founder, dies at 79

Bob Mills, who founded Bob Mills Furniture in Oklahoma City in 1971 and grew it into a 12-store chain across three states, died Monday at age 79.

His family announced the death in a statement posted to the company’s Facebook page, saying Mills “built more than a furniture company.” The statement was signed by his wife, Margaret, and their children, Bryan, Tuesday, and Chris. Funeral arrangements had not been set as of Monday afternoon.

Mills was a familiar voice on radio and television ads across the southern Plains for more than five decades, and his company employed more than 400 people at 12 locations in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, KXXV in Waco reported. His death drew coverage from stations in Oklahoma City, Lubbock, Midland, and Waco, markets where his stores and his ads had been a constant presence since the Nixon administration.

The company said it will continue operating. “Bob Mills Furniture will continue to move forward,” the family wrote. “The company he worked so hard to build will continue to operate, guided by the same values, dedication, and commitment to excellence that have defined it for so many years.” Marketing manager Rebecca Sites told KMID in Midland that the company remains committed to the values Mills established and will keep serving customers across all locations.

Mills started the business at 23 with a $25,000 loan from his mother. He was working as an insurance typist, sending late-payment notices, when he decided to open a furniture store in a converted grocery building in Oklahoma City, according to KMID. He partnered with a friend to launch the first location.

The early years were lean. By 1975, the staff had shrunk to two employees, KMID reported. Mills persisted, and in the late 1980s the company moved to a 110,000-square-foot facility at 3600 West Reno in Oklahoma City. That building remains the flagship showroom and corporate headquarters.

From there, Mills expanded steadily. The chain now includes stores in Oklahoma City and Tulsa; Wichita, Kansas; and nine Texas cities: Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, San Antonio, San Juan, Schertz, Temple, and Waco. The company ranked No. 49 on Furniture Today’s Top 100 list of furniture retailers, making it one of the largest independent chains in the region.

The company celebrated its 55th anniversary in 2026. Furniture Today reported that only about one in seven retail establishments launched in 1994 was still operating 31 years later, putting Mills’ longevity in rare company for the industry. The chain had recently acquired a 116,000-square-foot facility in San Antonio as part of its expansion in that market, a sign that Mills was still growing the business in his late 70s.

Mills also became a fixture in Oklahoma City media. He sponsored the Bob Mills SkyNews 9 helicopter and lent his name to a construction camera on News 9’s website. The company partnered with Susan G. Komen for breast cancer research fundraising in 2024, KCBD in Lubbock reported. As recently as last week, News 9 was promoting a winter weather preparedness event at the Oklahoma City store, scheduled for Nov. 14 with chief meteorologist David Payne.

The sponsorship and the helicopter naming were the kind of long-term media buys that kept Mills’ name in front of viewers between commercials. Regional retailers have used that strategy for decades to compete with national chains that can outspend them on national ad campaigns. Mills put his own name and face on the ads, which is cheaper and more durable than hiring a spokesperson, but it ties the brand to one person in a way that becomes a liability when that person is gone.

The family statement emphasized Mills’ pride in his employees over his business accomplishments. “He was incredibly proud of this company, but even more importantly, he was proud of the people who made it what it is today,” the family wrote. “As his family, we want you to know how deeply grateful we are for your dedication, loyalty, and the role you have played in his life’s work.”

Mills is survived by his wife, Margaret, and their three children, Bryan, Tuesday, and Chris, all of whom play active roles in the business, KMID reported. The family asked for privacy and said memorial arrangements would be announced once finalized. EverythingLubbock.com and KFOR in Oklahoma City also confirmed the death.

The company has not named a successor. Mills’ children are involved in the business, but the family statement did not specify who will take over day-to-day operations or whether the ownership structure will change. The statement focused on continuity rather than transition, which is standard for an initial death announcement but leaves questions for employees and customers in 12 cities.

What I think

Mills’ story is the version of American retail that gets told less often now, because the ending is usually different. A person borrows money from family, opens one store, survives the lean years, and builds something that lasts 55 years and employs 400 people across three states. Most attempts at this fail. The ones that succeed tend to share a few traits: the founder stays in the store, the ads are loud and constant, and the business expands only as fast as the people running it can manage. Mills did all three.

What is less certain is what happens next. The family says the business will continue, and the children are already involved. That is the right starting position. But regional furniture retail is a hard business at the moment, squeezed by online competitors and shifting housing markets, and the loss of the person whose name is on the door and whose voice was on the ads is not a small one. The stores will stay open. The question is whether the brand keeps its pull without the man who made it familiar.

It will take a while to know. Mills spent 55 years making his name synonymous with furniture in a specific part of the country. That kind of equity does not disappear overnight, but it also does not maintain itself. The family’s statement was short on details about leadership transitions, and that is fine for a death announcement. The harder conversation comes later, and it will happen in private, among the four people who signed Monday’s statement.