Master Sergeant William Jared "Mac" McMillan

Jared, 38, passed away on March 26th after a 5-year battle with colon cancer. A visitation will be 6-8 PM on Friday April 9th at Grace Gardens Funeral Home in Woodway, Texas. The funeral service will be 10 am, April 10th at Crestview Church of Christ in Waco, Texas with Interment to follow at Oakwood Cemetery with Military Honors.

Jared was born in Lubbock, Texas but grew up in Snyder, Texas learning to love reading, art (which was made difficult as he was colorblind) and watching / playing sports. It was his contagious smile and shared love for sports that brought he and his soon to be wife, Christy Tomlinson, together. They became high school sweethearts, and both graduated from Snyder High School in 2000.

After graduation, Jared left for San Antonio to join the Air Force in July of 2000, while Christy left for Abilene Christian University. God brought them back together after basic training when Jared was stationed at Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas. They eloped on April 5th, 2002. Over his 20-year career, his duty stations included Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, and Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. He also deployed 3 times to Guam, Diego Garcia, and Iraq.

Jared worked as a 4Fox in Flight Medicine, attached to the 9th Bomb Squadron as their Medic until the 4F/4N merger in 2002. After the merger, he continued as an Air Force Medic until he applied for and was accepted to the Interservice Physician Assistant Program at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He would receive his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2017, but fell just 5 months short of receiving his Master’s Degree for Physician’s Assistant in the Air Force due to his cancer progression.

Jared never met a stranger and was always looking for ways to help others. He always enjoyed escorting people who looked lost at the hospital. Instead of giving directions, he would stop everything he was doing to walk and talk with them as he guided them directly to where they needed to be. He also had an amazing work ethic that led to many honors and awards. He loved building others up and seeing his people rewarded as well. He always pushed to make those around him better and loved seeing them succeed.

Early in his career, he quickly gained the nickname “BamBam.” Not known for finesse, Jared was able to break things no one thought was possible. He once twisted the head off of an oxygen tank creating excitement for everyone on that shift. He was also able to bend a metal pole with his head by diving head-first to catch a softball down the 3rd base line. To say he was hard-headed would be an understatement.

It was at Dyess that Jared and Christy discovered a new-found love of slow-pitch softball that would take them on many adventures and meet some amazing people from around the world. The love of the game and each other was so strong that they spent the night they eloped playing an all-nighter softball tournament. In 2008, they took their skills to RAF Lakenheath where they played for the base teams around England, Germany, and Italy, quickly gaining a reputation for their love of the game and each other.

After 14 years of marriage, Jared and Christy found out they were expecting their miracle baby, Aria Jordyn. Within months of finding out the happy news, Jared found out he had Stage IV colon cancer. With a new little one on the way, he had every reason to beat cancer. They brought Aria into this world in October of 2016. When we wasn’t working or fighting cancer, Jared loved teaching Aria his love of coloring and painting. She had her daddy wrapped around her little finger.

Jared made his mantra #FaithFamilyFight and #NeverEverQuit to not only motivate himself, but he took it a step further to document his journey to help others facing difficult situations. He gained quite the following on Facebook and began being asked to help others on different Facebook cancer pages. Soon he gained the nick name “Iron Wolf” as part of the Wolf Pack, a group of men who lead cancer warriors into battle against this disease. Because of his dedication to continuing to help others, he became a Wounded Warrior Ambassador, and he was recognized by the Gloria Borges WonderGlo Foundation and was flown to Los Angeles to accept The Cancer Warrior Award in 2019.

In 2020, Jared began having more physical problems due to the side effects of radiation and chemo. He continued to have back pain that came to a head in February of 2021. Jared’s kidneys started giving him lots of problems, and it ultimately led to a fast decline where he passed away at Brooke Army Medical Center on March 26th, 2021.

Jared leaves behind his loving wife Christy and four-year-old daughter Aria. On April 5th, Jared and Christy would have celebrated 19 years of wonderful marriage. What he will be remembered for mostly will be his contagious smile that could light up any room. He will be greatly missed by so many, but never forgotten by those that followed and loved him.

Registry for Jared McMillan