Obituary of James Mitchell

BIOGRAPHY MITCHELL ~ James Mitchell passed away peacefully in the Pine Island Lodge, Maidstone, Saskatchewan on Friday, November 19, 2010 at the age of 90 years. James will be sadly missed by his cousins: Duncan and Verla Mitchell of Maidstone, Larry and Eleanor Mitchell of Airdrie, Brian and Brenda Reifferscheid of Humboldt, Sharon Pegg of Redwood Meadows as well as numerous other cousins in Maidstone, Scotland and California. The memorial service was conducted from the Maidstone Legion Hall, Maidstone, Saskatchewan on Monday, November 29, 2010 at 2:00 P.M. with Reverend Ean Kasper officiating. The hymns sung were “Amazing Grace” and “Onward Christian Soldiers” accompanied on the organ by Frances Wright. The honorary pallbearers were the Maidstone Legion. The interment took place in the Maidstone Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. EULOGY - Read by Lloyd Robb, Written by Brenda Reifferscheid James Mitchell was born to James and Marie (nee Goddard) Mitchell on September 6, 1920 in Edmonton, Alberta. Jim was their only son, as his mother, Marie, passed away when Jim was only two years old. Jim grew up north of Maidstone in the Keyworth area. He lived on the farm with his dad and was raised with the help of William and Margaret Mitchell and the John and Edna Cruikshank family and several housekeepers. He attended Keyworth School. He then helped out on the farm until he went to serve his country at age 21. He served from November 1941 until January 1946. He served as a signalman, delivering messages to the front line. He was injured once and spent time in an England hospital after a spill off of his motorcycle. When the war was over, Jim returned home, but soon set out to Hamilton, Ontario where he worked at Kraft Containers for three years. In July, 1950, Jim returned to the family farm to help his father. James Senior passed away two years later and Jim kept the farm going until 1974. He then rented his farm out to his neighbors, Lloyd Robb and family. He lived in his house across from the school from retirement until he moved into the Maidstone Health Complex in the spring of 2010. In September, Jim celebrated his 90th birthday. Now, Jim would be joking about all the good things we are about to say about him. He was a quiet, humble man and did not like the attention put on him, but we will do it anyway. Jim lost a lifelong friend, Marj Stewart in September of this year and at her service they talked of a top ten list. Here are the top ten things the family hopes you will remember and celebrate about Jim. 1. He was kind He was often referred to as “Gentleman Jim”. Whenever you spoke with Jim, it always started with “what’s new?” He had a way of turning the conversation away from him and turned it into questions about you, your family or your work. He kept on top of all the news and made sure to send condolences when someone passed and remembered to send cards on birthdays, or holidays and they most often contained something special in them. He always signed sincerely, James Mitchell..... and that describes his kindness.....sincere. 2. He loved cars We always teased Jim that he must have gotten the ashtray in his vehicle dirty and had to trade it in. His old car was generally no more than two or three years old. He said he traded them off when the warranty was about to expire. He had kept key chains and caps from every dealership he had bought from. Which leads to....... 3. He was a collector Jim kept EVERYTHING. And we mean everything. As the family cleaned up his house, they found so many treasures. Jim said there were a lot of things that were sentimental to him, but probably no one else. What a walk through history. He had photographs of family taken as early as the 1800's. And every picture taken ever since. (And he had a story to go with every one as well). Some of the other treasures found were Maidstone Mirrors from the 1930's, Lashburn bluebird programs, luggage tags from his trips, albums of matchbook covers and postcards, coins, letters, paintings, history books, thank you cards, wedding announcements, funeral cards, chess sets from all over the world, etc, etc, etc. All of the photos and keepsakes on display here were taken from his house. Enjoy and look at Jim’s memories. 4. He was knowledgeable He loved the farmer’s almanac, Canadian history, old classic books, lots of reference books, Reader’s Digest, the Star Phoenix and the Maidstone Mud. His love of knowledge and education showed in his loyalty to the Maidstone High School and his Jim Mitchell scholarships. He encouraged young people of the community to further their education and always kept track of those young adults and their successes in life. And of course, if you applied for his scholarship and didn’t win it, he would send you a graduation card with a gift of money anyway. In his passing, Jim made sure this tradition continues for another 21 years of scholarships in his name. 5. He was generous And quietly so. His list of charities was huge. And we will probably never know exactly how big. He would quietly give donations to organizations and individuals and ask not to be acknowledged. It is amazing how many lives he touched. It is evident in all the hand written thank you cards he had kept from those who had received his generosity. We know he appreciated the kind words from everyone. At the end of his life, Jim donated all his household belongings to RESTORE, the Salvation Army, the Interval House and Value Village. 6. He loved sports Among all the papers found, were copies of the hockey pools, local sports events, his curling broom, his golf carts and shoes and about a hundred golf balls. He knew all about the current CFL, NHL and curling stats. He enjoyed playing broomball on occasion, curling, golfing, biking and boating. He also bowled with the seniors. Verla and Jim had an ongoing bet with hockey. Verla bet on the Montreal Canadians and Jim bet on any and every team that they played against. 7. He was funny He had the Mitchell sense of humor. He didn’t laugh out loud too often, but always had a grin from ear to ear. He always had jokes and comical stories he passed on from the Reader’s Digest. And he loved to tell of adventures of the people he knew and could tease. 8. He hated snow!!!!! If Jim ever had anything bad to say, it was about the winter weather. He hated the snow and the cold. Jim and Verla had another bet about the first snowfall coming in September and Jim was quite happy to lose that one. And thus, his yearly winter trips. Jim saw the world. In his last days, he reminisced about his travels. He went to Hawaii for 27 years in a row. His favorite island was Kauai. There were many letters and cards sent from friends he had made on his travels found in his collection at his house. Some of the other places Jim had seen were Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, South America, Scotland, the states, Holland and England. A few weeks ago, we asked Jim if there was any place he regretted not traveling to or seeing and his reply was, “Yes, I always wanted to go to Churchill”. One trip that meant a lot to Jim was his commemoration trip to Steenwijk, Holland in 1995. While there, he got to meet up with former army buddies to celebrate the 50th anniversary of national liberation day. And this leads to 9. He was proud to be a vet As most vets, Jim did not talk about his World War II experience, but it was a gigantic part of his life. He enlisted in the fall of 1941 and served in the Canadian Army in the UK and Continental Europe. His original intention was to become involved in radio communication, but his comrades convinced him to be a dispatcher because you get to ride a motorcycle. His job was to deliver messages from headquarters to battalions, usually in unfamiliar territory and often at night. Jim delivered the victory dispatch to Canadian front line troops, marking the end of the German occupation in Holland. Jim enjoyed being part of the Maidstone Legion and was happy to help out with Legion activities. He carried the flag at the November 11th services and was part of the July 1st parades. He participated in the service and contest at the school in respect to Remembrance Day. He always made sure you wore a poppy in November and would buy you one if you weren’t wearing one. 10. He loved his family and friends Jim talked about his upbringing recently. He told us that his mother’s sister, who had moved to California came to visit them when Jim was ten years old. She and her husband wanted to adopt him and take him back to California. James, Sr rejected the idea, as well as the William and Margaret Mitchell and John and Edna Cruikshank family. Jim often said he wondered what his life would have been like if he had been raised as a Californian. We are glad he got to stay. So Jim grew up surrounded by his Mitchell cousins and the Cruikshank children. Margaret Mitchell and John and Ida Cruikshank were his childhood companions. And as he grew up the younger siblings came along. Duncan and Sharon Mitchell and Ron Cruikshank became an important part of his life as well. Each generation of Mitchells following considered him to be “Uncle Jim”. Over the years, Jim had help from family with the farm. His cousin, Angus, came from Scotland to help out after James, Sr. had passed away. When Jim retired, you could find him and Duncan and Verla on coffee row. He was the first to find out the new waitresses names and where they came from. On holidays, he split his time between the Mitchell and Golden families. He was everyone’s friend, young and old. We will always remember Jim for his kindness, his knowledge, his generosity and his humor. We thank him for serving his country so we can live in peace and freedom. We will keep your memories and cherish them and be grateful for having shared a part of your life that has become a part of ours. Good bye Jim. CARD OF THANKS Thanks to the caregivers at the Maidstone Health Complex and to Dr. Stander. Thanks to the Legion men for their part in the service, the Legion ladies for providing the lunch. To Frances Wright for the music. Thanks to Reverend Ean Casper for his comforting words. Thanks to Lloyd Robb for doing the eulogy and Sharon Pegg for the poem. Thanks for the food, flowers, cards, phone calls and visits. Thanks to McCaw Funeral Home. The Mitchell Family Donations in memory of James may be made to the charity of the donor's choice.