A husband, a father, a soldier.

In 2016, Austin and Hannah had their first daughter, Charlee Lou. After 7 years together, on June 17th, 2017, they were married before their closest family and friends. Austin loved that they celebrated at his in-laws’ home (better known as the Duck Inn), one of his favorite places to be. Following their wedding, Austin and Hannah welcomed their next two daughters, Oaklee Anne in 2018 and Roree Jensen in 2019. Austin absolutely loved being a girl dad and was so proud of his little family. 

Austin worked for Hydrite Chemical in Oshkosh as a truck driver. He loved his job and always talked about how he was going to be there until he retired. He was an extremely hard worker with a great work ethic and was able to allow Hannah to be a stay-at-home mother at the young age of 24. By the age of 27, Austin moved his family back to Butte des Morts so that their children could attend the Winneconne school district and be back in the neighborhood that he loved so much. This was a goal he wanted to accomplish before the girls reached high school, but instead, he worked very hard and accomplished this goal before they even started elementary school. 

Austin loved camping, fishing, hunting, football, and spending time with his family and friends. He also enjoyed snowboarding, bag toss, and his trips to Florida, especially kayaking. He and his family went camping all summer long. He was an avid Green Bay Packers fan and attended many games. Out of the 24 games he attended, he was proud to say that the Packers won 23 of them. 

Austin was extremely proud to be a husband and a father. He was a dedicated family man who always put his daughters first. He hated missing any milestones of their lives and was always actively involved in everything they did. His favorite thing to do with them was to make breakfast whenever he could. 

Austin was always there to help anyone who needed it. He had a great work ethic and was a great mentor to his soldiers. Austin made friends wherever he went. He had a huge heart and a smile that could light up the room, paired with a contagious laugh that made him an easy man to love. He made every moment with him a personal one and loved making people happy. Austin was always positive and always (sometimes annoyingly) happy. He loved to pet people, play with their ears, fix their nose rings, and do many other quirky things to make people laugh. He loved the word “delicious”, singing loudly (not very well), answering the phone saying “Hello, this is Austin how can I help you” as if we didn’t already know who we were calling, repeatedly asking the question why in the most obnoxious manner, telling his wife that he “spent a little money today”, and doing anything to get a laugh out of anyone around him. He will always be remembered for leaving pairs of sunglasses everywhere he went, having bad dance moves, collecting can koozies, and loving his cookies, butter, and gravy (not together, but if it would’ve tasted good, he probably would have!). 

On November 6th, 2022, Austin decided to take his own life for reasons we will never understand. He never spoke out about how he was truly feeling inside and kept everything bottled up, hiding his real emotions with smiles, jokes, and laughter. We wish he had spoken up about his struggles and asked for help. Over 400 people attended Austin’s funeral to say their goodbyes. Everyone will forever miss his smile, laugh, and loving personality. Though he is gone from our sight, he will never be gone from our hearts. With our Serves For Suicide event, we hope to continue sharing Austin’s story and keep his memory alive. Our goal is to promote the importance of mental health care, encourage others to speak up and ask for help, and to help eliminate suicide. Our hope is that no other family will suffer a loss like Austin.  

;IGY6 Austin Jeffrey Millard 

December 2nd, 1993- November 6th, 2022