Personal Life
Milliken was born October 24, 1915, in New York City, the eldest son of Gerrish and Agnes (Gayley) Milliken. Roger's grandfather was Seth Milliken, co-founder of what is today known as Milliken & Company. He attended Yale University, where he studied French history and graduated in 1937. After graduation, he started out in New York City’s Mercantile Stores, in which his family had an ownership stake.
In 1941, he was given the stewardship of three small woolen-producing mills in Maine. When his father, Gerrish, died in 1947, the 32-year-old Milliken succeeded him as president.
Roger Milliken met his future wife, Justine (Nita) Van Rensselaer Hooper, at a dinner party. They married in 1948.
In 1954, Mr. Milliken and his family moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina to reside for the rest of his life. Both Mr. and Mrs. Milliken moved into active community service, he serving on the board of Wofford College and she on the board of Converse College. Mr. Milliken also served on other corporate and nonprofit boards, including: Arthur D. Little, Westinghouse, Citicorp, Mercantile, W.R. Grace; and Institute of Textile Technology, The Heritage Foundation, the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport Commission, and the Spartanburg Day School.
He was president of Milliken & Company until 1983, when he became Chairman and CEO. He relinquished the CEO title in 2005, and remained Chairman until his death.
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