William Henry Mitchell was born September 29, 1946 to E.C. & Lois Collins Mitchell, the youngest of seven children. He passed away at 71 at The Oaks in Shreveport, LA on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 from Alzheimer's. He leaves behind an incredible legacy.
That legacy included a big family. He married Nancy Raiford, the love of his life, 35 years ago and together they multiplied! Children include Leslie Kroeger and husband Chad of Stuart, FL, James and wife Nina of Franklin, TN, Jonathan and wife Karla of Los Angeles, CA, Joshua and wife Hallie of Franklin, TN, Jarred of Nashville, TN, Audra of Shreveport, LA, Jordan of Murfreesboro, TN, Arianna of Shreveport, LA and three boys still at home Justus, Joel and Jaden of Bossier City. He was also a proud granddad to eight. They are Taylor and Jake Kroeger, Jameson and Siena Mitchell, Eli Mitchell and Caitlyn, Lucy and Liam Mitchell. Mitch also dearly loved his sister-in-law, Patti Raiford Lann who helped care for him during his illness.
He was preceded in death by siblings Jerome and Carolyn. He is survived by sisters Lavonne of Shreveport, Linda of Alexandria, Velora of Hornbeck; brother Elton (Pat) of Santa Fe, TN, sister-in-law Theda (Jerome) of Mansfield and many nieces and nephews. Mitch was born and raised in Many, LA, and received a B.S. in Zoology and a MBA, both from NSU. He was an accomplished singer and songwriter. He had his first hit single while still in high school and charted with Hey Baby and I'll Never. His never boring career led him to two movie rolls, Mountain Top Motel Massacre (1982) and Aurora Encounter (1985). Mitch also spent many years in sales and consulting in the automotive industry.
One of the final projects he worked on was creating and directing a television series that aired on PBS from 2009-2014 called Legends and Lyrics. It was a tremendous accomplishment of which he was very proud. He was never afraid to chase his dreams and follow his passions. He had a larger than life personality that each one of his children inherited a part of.
A visitation will be held at Rose Neath Funeral home on Marshall Street in Shreveport from 5:30 - 7:30 on Friday, October 27th. There will be a visitation on Friday, November 3rd from 5:30 to 8:30 and the funeral service will be Saturday, November 4th at 2:00 p.m. Both will be held at Fly Church of Nazarene Church in Santa Fe, TN.
The family wishes to acknowledge the love and care he received from The Oaks of Louisiana and Dr. April Patton and Dr. David Henry.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to www.missionvoicenetwork.org or www.eternalfamilyproject.org