Kimla Dwyann Thompson Milburn was born on January 13, 1963, in Washington, D.C. She transcended this life on April 13, 2021. Her fifty-eight years of life were both driven and defined by a spirit of service that made everything and everyone that she encountered profoundly better.

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Kimla, known to family and friends as “Kim,” received her elementary and middle school education in the Prince George’s County, Maryland public school system. She attended Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Maryland, where she flourished as a scholar-athlete and leader. She was a three-year varsity volleyball player and was selected to serve as team captain in her senior year. She was also an Action Council (student government) participant and was elected president in her senior year. Also in her senior year, she had the distinguished honor of serving as a page for the Maryland General Assembly.

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After graduating from high school, Kim attended the University of Maryland. While excelling as a student, she was active in various extracurricular activities to include becoming a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Politics in 1985, Kim attended the University of Maryland School of Law. While in law school, she fulfilled a judicial clerkship in Prince George's County. She earned a Juris Doctorate in 1988, an achievement soon followed by successfully passing the Maryland state bar exam on her first attempt later that year.

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Kim began her career in law in the private sector with Maryland-based law firm Joseph Greenwald and Laake, PA, but passionately answered a deep-rooted calling for public service by transitioning to work as an attorney in the Prince George’s County Office of Law. In 1995, Kim was hired as the first Assistant City Attorney for the city of Annapolis, Maryland. In 1997 Kim transitioned to the federal government where she worked as an attorney in the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Later at the request of Mayor Dean Johnson, she returned to Annapolis to serve as the Director of Human Resources. She would hold this appointed position at the request of three different mayors until retiring.

 

Kim was wholeheartedly committed to pursuing professional growth and expanding her capacity to give back. These pursuits yielded numerous accomplishments and honors to include: service as an adjunct professor of both legal and human resources studies at Prince George’s Community College in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and the University of Wilmington in Wilmington, Delaware; membership in Leadership Anne Arundel's 2000 Flagship Class; being named one of Maryland's "Top One Hundred Women” by the Baltimore-based news organization, the Daily Record in 2005; being named a YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County (Maryland) Honoree for Excellence in Public Service in 2009; and over twenty years of active membership in the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR), an organization that took her to countries around the world while fulfilling various leadership roles to include 2012 International President.

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In retirement, Kim's spirit soared through her energy for God and in enriching relationships with family and friends. Her participation in Bible studies fostered inspiration that she selflessly channeled into giving all of herself to those around her. Kim's creativity yielded realizations of her thoughtfulness and love in the form of beautifully intricate crocheted items such as blankets, hats, scarves, as well as scrapbooks and other hand-crafted keepsakes. The joy she had in creating them was only surpassed by the joy in gifting them to others.

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Kim's passionate appreciation for and prioritization of her family was inspiring. She worked to provide the very best for her children with love, grace and humility. She was a compass that could always direct one to a deep appreciation for the blessing of spending quality time together. While Kim's fifty-eight years of life may seem short, quiet moments of reflection on what she valued most and how she lived her life renders a profound admiration of what an amazing steward of her time here on Earth she truly was.

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Kimla Dwyann Thompson Milburn was one of the sweetest, most kind-hearted people that one could ever meet. While she is dearly missed, her life and legacy will continue to inspire all who knew her to carry forward her spirit of service in positive and purposeful ways. She is survived by two sons, Michael II (Lauren) and Benjamin Milburn, a daughter, Kristina Milburn, two granddaughters, Riley and Robyn Milburn, her dog Bella, her parents Robert and Adelaide Thompson, a brother Robert Thompson II (Sharita), one aunt, Ann Latney, two Uncles, Donald (Ruth) and Ronald (Elaine) Alexander, a Godmother, Francis Yvonne Hicks, her former spouse, Michael Milburn Sr., former brother and sisters-in-law, Malvin Milburn (Lillian), Gail Milburn and Cindy Riffert (David), and a host of other relatives and friends.