Anthony Paul Milledge
Brother, uncle, Jesuit missionary, friend. Born on Feb. 11, 1924, in Bournemouth, England; died on June 9, 2014, in Matigara, India, of natural causes, aged 90.
Father Anthony Milledge – Uncle Tony to his many nieces and nephews – was a lucky man. He found his calling as a Jesuit missionary early in life and never looked back. For more than 60 years he worked at mission stations in India, at times in the midst of political turmoil, ministering to the poor. He was particularly successful in starting elementary schools and mother-and-child health care programs. His final decade was spent at Jesu Ashram, a shelter for lepers, the unwanted and the abandoned, in Matigara, West Bengal.
Uncle Tony, the youngest of three sons, was raised in Montreal, where his family had immigrated in 1929. There he was educated by the Jesuits at Loyola High School and Loyola College. Inspired by his teachers, he entered the Jesuit Order in 1946 and volunteered for mission work. He was sent to India in 1953 and five years later was ordained there at the age of 34.
From an early age, I was encouraged to write to my uncle. Our correspondence began with aerograms (mine contained a lot of drawings) and much later moved to e-mails. Every five years or so, he would take leave for a few months to visit and reconnect with family and friends – of which there were many – in Canada, the United States and the U.K. He would also give talks about his missionary work to church groups. I suspect his home visits also allowed him to indulge a sweet tooth; I remember watching him one morning as he very carefully spread a thick layer of jam on his toast, and then slowly savoured every bite.
He was great company, one of the happiest people I've ever known. Being a gregarious man of endless curiosity, he easily conversed on many subjects with people of all ages and backgrounds. He had a great sense of humour. When my husband complained that his barber continued to charge him full price to trim his balding head, Uncle Tony declared, without missing a beat: "Most of that cost is the search fee."
Several family members visited him in India over the years. The first was my father, his elder brother Frank, an officer in the Canadian Army. In 1965, the two spent a memorable Christmas together while Frank was seconded to the UN in a peacekeeping role after a short-lived war between India and Pakistan. In 2000 came a visit from Frank's granddaughter, Laurie, a university student who was working on a project in New Delhi between Ontario's York University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. She journeyed to his mission in Gayaganga, in the hills of Darjeeling, where he apparently caused a sensation among the locals by riding around on his motor scooter with a young woman at his back.
In 2009, he welcomed another relation, his brother John's step-granddaughter, Danica. Newly graduated from high school and unsure what to do next in life, she decided to see the world with a girlfriend. The two spent a month at Jesu Ashram helping in the infirmary, and felt enriched by their time with Uncle Tony. Once back home, Danica enrolled in nursing and her friend entered medical school.
Uncle Tony continued to work at Jesu Ashram until old age caught up with him. In his last months, he was cared for by the ashram staff. His family knew that he wanted to be buried in India, the country he had come to love, and are pleased his wish was granted.
Louise Milledge is Father Anthony's niece.