Law enforcement officers from Maine, New Hampshire and the U.S. Secret Service paid tribute Saturday to Keith Mills of Arundel during a funeral service for the veteran member of the presidential protection detail for the Bush family in Kennebunkport.

Keith Mills with former President George H.W. Bush Photo courtesy Mills family

Mills, 50, died last Sunday while training during his shift at Walker’s Point, the Kennebunkport compound owned by the Bush family. A member of the Secret Service since 2002, Mills helped protect the late President George H.W. Bush as well as President George W. Bush and their families during visits to Maine and during travels.

Mills was laid to rest Saturday in Saco’s Laurel Hill Cemetery during a ceremony with family, guests and law enforcement officers. More than 100 people, including many officers from throughout Maine and New Hampshire, participated in the procession as well as the ceremony at the cemetery.

A Maine State Police motorcycle unit escorted the hearse, entering the cemetery gates beneath a large American flag suspended from firetruck ladders. They were joined at the cemetery by bagpipers with the New Hampshire Police Association Pipes and Drums, and representatives of the Maine State Police and New Hampshire State Police performed a gun salute to Mills. Members of the Secret Service Uniformed Division served as pallbearers.

Since his death while on duty, Mills was remembered as a devoted father to his two children, 15-year-old Evan and 12-year-old Avery, as well as a dedicated officer who loved his job.

“Laura and I were saddened by the sudden loss of Keith Mills,” former President George W. Bush said in a statement. “Keith was a dedicated public servant and exemplary member of the United States Secret Service. My family had the good fortune of knowing Keith well, and now our thoughts are with Keith’s family – particularly his children. We join them in mourning the loss of a kind, funny, patriotic man.”

The funeral procession of Keith Mills, led by bagpipers, makes its way into Laurel Hill Cemetery on Saturday in Saco. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Prior to joining the Secret Service in 2002, Mills worked as a corrections officer with the York County Sheriff’s Office, a reserve officer with the Ogunquit Police Department, and as a  patrolman and sergeant for a decade at the Kennebunkport Police Department. Additionally, Mills was an instructor at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, a firearms expert and a certified rescue diver for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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