Corky McMillin, 76; Builder Developed Real Estate Empire
Corky McMillin, a third-generation contractor who borrowed against his modest San Diego-area home to launch a company that became a force in Southern California real estate, has died. He was 76.
McMillin died of heart failure Thursday at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, his family said. He had been hospitalized since suffering chest pains Sept. 10 during an off-road race in the desert.
The mom-and-pop construction business McMillin started in 1960 grew from developing small tracts of homes to building master-planned communities and commercial structures.
As the company branched into real estate and mortgage financing, its reach extended from San Diego County to Central California and Texas.
Early on, one of McMillin’s hallmarks was building houses for what was then a largely ignored middleincome market.
“He wanted to provide more people with a place to call home,” Mary Oswell, a project manager for the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “He was building in his own backyard and sticking around, which was rare.”
Born in a small town in Missouri on Jan. 14, 1929, Macey L. McMillin Jr. was nicknamed Corky as a child.
As a teenager, he helped his father build military structures in Kansas during World War II.
The family moved to Chula Vista, Calif., in 1944.
After a two-year stint in the Army in Germany, McMillin joined the Air Force during the Korean War and returned to San Diego in 1954.
By 1958, he was remodeling houses, doing most of the construction himself. His wife, Vonnie, whom he married in 1953, kept the books.
McMillin, a longtime resident of Bonita, Calif., was known for his local philanthropy; his company donated $1.5 million to San Diego State to expand its educational real estate program.
He shared a passion for off-road racing with his two sons and had won the Baja 500 and Baja 1000, which are considered among the more arduous desert races.
McMillin’s sons, Mark and Scott, are vice chairmen of Corky McMillin Cos.
In addition to his wife and sons, McMillin is survived by a daughter, Laurie Ann Ray; a sister; and eight grandchildren.
The memorial service will be private. A public service is being planned.
