Dr. James Camillus Vernon Millette

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Oberlin College Professor Emeritus Dr. James Millette. James passed peacefully at home, surrounded by family, on October 12, 2026, after a brief illness.

Born in Siparia, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies, on October 16, 1933, James Camillus Vernon Millette arrived just minutes before his twin brother, John. Their parents, Dorothy Thelma Millette (nee Thorne) and Saville Lawrence Millette, sent the boys to Dudley’s Commercial School, then Fyzabad Intermediate School, where James won the National Exhibition Scholarship that allowed him to attend St. Mary’s College, an all-boys Catholic high school. After graduating in 1952, James placed first on the island-wide civil service examination and earned a position in Trinidad’s Customs and Excise Department, where he worked until 1956.

In the civil service, James developed a passion for politics. He and other ambitious young Trinidadians were drawn to the People’s National Movement (PNM) political party of future Prime Minister Eric Williams and the party’s promise of freedom from colonialism in the 1956 elections. That same year, James left Trinidad to study economics in Jamaica at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus. On Christmas Day, 1957, he met his future wife, Mildred Veronica Hardie, at her aunt’s house near campus. When he graduated from UWI in August 1960, he held a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in history, and Mildred’s hand. The two married in Kingston on September 4, 1960.

James began his career in St. Vincent as a Resident Tutor in Extra-Mural Studies, but the couple didn’t stay there long. By August 1961, he and Mildred returned to Jamaica, where their son, David, was born.

When James decided to further his studies at the King’s College, University of London — where his master’s in history became a PhD — Mildred joined him in the U.K. There, they met Basil Davidson, the anticolonialist British historian of Africa; Stuart Hall, the Jamaican socialist and sociologist; and CLR James, the multi-disciplinary Marxist scholar. These notable figures all continued to cultivate James’ interest in politics and his dedication to rigorous scholarship, clear writing, and a generous approach to mentoring students.

While studying in England, James and Mildred welcomed their daughter, Suzanne. After James earned his PhD in September 1964, the family returned to a newly independent Trinidad, where James started teaching at UWI’s St. Augustine Campus. Over the next 26 years, he held positions as a Senior Lecturer in History and Dean of the College of Arts and General Studies.

During their time in Trinidad, James and Mildred’s second daughter, Corrinne, was born. As his family grew, so did his interest in local and Caribbean politics. James authored scholarly histories including The Genesis of Crown Colony Government: Trinidad, 1783-1810, and Society and Politics in Colonial Trinidad, both accounts of the island’s passage from Spanish to British rule.

James became an active member of the New World Group, an organization founded by Lloyd Best, and was on the editorial board of the New World Journal, which focused on Caribbean current affairs and opinion. In the 1970s, he founded the newspaper MOKO and served as the General Secretary of the United Labour Front (ULF) political party that campaigned for the highest office in Trinidad.

In February 1978, the family experienced the most devastating tragedy when David was hit and killed by a drunk driver while walking home from high school. This affected James and Mildred deeply. They continued to keep David’s legacy alive by sharing stories and memories with friends, family and future generations.

The family migrated to the United States in 1990, when James left UWI for a professor position in the History Department at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. In an echo of St. Vincent, they didn’t stay long. By 1991, James and his family moved once again, this time just 100 miles up the road to Oberlin, Ohio. He accepted a position at Oberlin College as a history professor, and later became the department chair of African-American (now Africana) Studies. James retired from Oberlin College in 2010.

His move to the U.S. may have signaled the end of James’ career in Caribbean politics, but it certainly didn’t dampen his interest. James was endlessly intrigued by events and ideas just about anywhere, and shortly after meeting someone new, he’d find a way to casually ask them about the situation in their hometown and their thoughts about it.

And if he couldn’t engage someone with politics or current events, James could connect with anyone over any sport. James could chat about cricket with his doctor, discuss American football playoffs with his granddaughters, name the current Preakness horses, update you on World Cup finals, tell you who’s out of the next tennis tournament, and politely ask if anyone is still watching TV because the basketball game is on. In his youth, he was an athlete himself. And even after his long and exceptional academic career, when asked if he had ever thought about becoming anything else in life, without missing a beat, he said, “a boxer.” You name the sport; James knew the score. While he could converse with anyone about anything, James was the quintessential orator, commanding attention, without threat. When he spoke, the whole room would go quiet. Even those who didn’t know him well remembered his stately voice, his gentlemanly demeanor.

James is preceded in death by his parents Saville and Dorothy Millette, his son David Millette, and his wife of 65 years Mildred Millette, who passed on August 8, 2026.

He is survived by his twin brother John Millette (and wife Anne); daughters, Suzanne Millette-George and Corrinne Millette-Villafana; son-in-law, Ian Villafana; grandchildren, Kimberlee George (and partner Samantha Pawlak), Melissa George (and partner Mark Ballard II), Isabel Villafana, and Christian Villafana; great-grandson Griffin George, and soon-to-arrive twin great-grandsons; and a large extended family.

We want to give particular thanks to family and friends who have been here and have been a big part of his life in the final years, especially his nieces, Lauren, Sandra and Maria; family friends Inyang, Gail and Terry; his former colleagues at Oberlin College; and Pam, a dear friend of the family who had been taking care of James in the final period of his life.

Of James’ many attributes — his insatiable curiosity, his unending optimism, his astounding love of books, his unending optimism — it’s his voice that will be missed most dearly by his family, his friends, and his community. Please honor him by standing up for what you believe, staying curious about this world, and maybe consider starting a paper or a committee. He will want to hear your report.

Funeral service will be held on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 12 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church, 410 West Lorain Street, Oberlin, OH 44074. Internment following at Westwood Cemetery.