Brandi Christine-Marie Mills

Brandi Christine-Marie Mills passed away on September 14, 2025, at her home in Port Orange, Florida, where she had turned each room into a perfect reflection of her bold, eclectic, and thoroughly disarming personality. She was surrounded by the people she loved and the things that brought her joy.

Born on September 28, 1981, Brandi was the daughter of Thomas Lowry Mills Jr. and Janice and Mark Souza. She was the first grandchild on both sides of her family, and took the role of oldest cousin quite seriously. As a child, Brandi both loved and tormented her cousins with equal fervor, and as an adult, she kept her friends and family connected across time and distance.

Brandi attended the University of South Carolina and graduated with a degree in Media Arts. She carried her love of the Gamecocks, particularly football, throughout her life. She collected hobbies as easily as she collected friends, and she especially enjoyed beading, decorating and redecorating, and puttering in her garden. Brandi loved a good pun, and even more, she loved a terrible one. She did not love listening to people eat, shoes worn inside her home, or phone calls without warning.

To the surprise of some, and perhaps most of all herself, Brandi fell in love with and married William “Billy” Hemstock in her late-thirties. Together, they created a home in Florida filled with love, laughter, and acceptance. Here, Brandi worked as a personal assistant to Eddy Driscoll, and the two quickly became as close as family — a testament to her gift for forming lasting connections wherever she went. Brandi was an integral part of the Spruce Creek Fly-In community, where she fulfilled her life’s mission of making those around her feel loved, welcome, and at ease.

Brandi is survived by her husband William John Hemstock, her parents Thomas Lowry Mills Jr. and Janice and Mark Souza, her sister LeeAnn Faulkner, her brothers Zach Mills and Jacob Greenhill, her niece Presley Mills Faulkner, her nephew James Thomas Faulkner, her grandmother Virginia Duncan Mills, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. She was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents Ed and Eunice Holland and her paternal grandfather Thomas Lowry Mills.

Celebrations of life will be held at Spruce Creek Fly-In in Florida and in Mauldin, South Carolina. The service in Mauldin will be held at Mauldin Methodist Church on November 7, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, Brandi would want you to begin decorating for Christmas absurdly early this year. #teamauntb.