Leroy Mitchell beloved father, no life insurance
Donation protected
After 77 years of life, Leroy Mitchell died on March 9th 2022. He passed away at his home, surrounded by family. He lived a life of service, joining the his mother in picking cotton at the age of 10. Years later he served his country by joining the US Army. Later he served California by fighting wildfires. He served his county by being a Mendocino county reserve sheriff's deputy. His favorite service was taking care of his family. He refused to get life insurance saying that he would rather keep his money each month than people get money when he died. His wife Patricia, along with his children and in laws. Samuel Mitchell, Leslie Mitchell, Kimberley Mitchell-Harpe, Todd Harpe, and Jimmy Mitchell are organizing a graveside memorial service. Even a simple service is putting his family into debt. Leroy was a proud man and would hate taking donations for help, but he would also not want his family to be burdened by debt.
We are not trying to get rich from our tragedy. We are just trying to raise the $15,000 to cover the cost of the simple graveside service. The following is a list of the expenses that we have or will be accruing. $2200 for mortuary, $7500 for cemetery, $1250 for casket, $150 for flowers, $150 photos, $60 refreshments, $250 headstone setting, $837 obituary one paper, $562 obituary second paper, $560 gas and tolls for trips to San Francisco Medical Center. The remainder of the money raised would go to fees and taxes that have not yet been calculated. Thank you for any donation you can make, or thank you for leaving an uplifting comment.
The Eulogy:
Leroy was born in 1944 to Willie Mae and Oscar Mitchell in Magee Mississippi. He was the eldest of 6 brothers. His family attended a local Baptist church where he was baptized. One of his treasured possession in life is a bible that he earned through memorizing bible verses. His father left the family early in Leroy's life and as the eldest brother he was given the burden of helping his mother support the family financially. He was picking cotton and other farm work at the age of 10. As well as hunting and fishing, not for sport but out of necessity. In the mid-fifties the family moved to Houston, Texas. Leroy, his mother, and his older brothers went to work on a chicken farm. He was driving and delivering eggs before he was 12 years old. His teen years were spent working at a Texas barbeque restaurant inspiring a lifelong passion for cooking and barbeque.
In 1960 his mother married Howard Newton. He owned a logging operation in Mendocino County. So the newlyweds along with the 3 youngest sons moved to Navarro. Leroy and this brother Bobby remained in Houston. He continued working at the Miller Burger and Barbeque joint. He worked his way up to being manager of the 5 restaurants. In 1962 Leroy reunited with his family in Navarro and began working for the California Department of Forestry in Boonville. After being laid off for the winter by the CDF, Leroy moved to Ukiah and began working for the House of Garner Restaurant.
In 1966 Leroy and his brother Bobby were drafted. Bobby joined the marines and was sent to Vietnam. His other brother Terry was drafted into Army and was sent to South Korea. Leroy chose to join the US Army, but was never sent oversees. Leroy spent most of his time in the Army stationed at Fort Benning Georgia. After being discharged from service in 1968 Leroy and his brother Bobby returned to Ukiah and the next day went to work for SanHedrin Logging in Pottery Valley. Leroy used his first paycheck to buy a blue Camaro. Both started out as knot bumpers, then moving on to cat skinners, building forestry roads, and erosion prevention. Leroy eventually was trained to run a tempco feller buncher.
In 1970 Leroy began working on his pilot's license. He was living in Reno and flying all around the area in a small Cessna 150. Then went to Oakland to use his GI education bill to train for his commercial license. In 1971 he built his first ski boat from a kit. He and his father in law used the boat for fishing in Fort Bragg and Lake Mendocino. His wife Patricia and her friends used the boat for skiing.
Leroy had many hobbies and interests through the years. When he was a boy, his parents took him to the Grand Ole Opry to see Hank Williams Sr. This inspired a life long love of country music. In the 70's the married couple had many trips to country music concerts. He also loved reading westerns and had read every Louis L'Amour novel. He also watched repeatedly nearly every western that was made. Leroy was always good with his hands, he was able to make any mechanical repairs, whether it was cars, boats, or tractors.
Leroy met his future wife Patricia Bennett at her birthday in 1968. They were married in Redwood Valley in 1970. Leroy was working as a logger during the dry season, and a reserve sheriff's deputy during the winter. In 1975 the couple bought a home in Ukiah where they would live the rest of their lives. On Leroy's 35th birthday the couple welcomed their first son Samuel. Two years later their second son Jimmy was born, and in 1984 his precious daughter Kimberley was born. From that point forward Leroy was working as a logger during the dry seasons and as a stay at home dad during the rainy seasons.
Leroy was already being treated for diabetes when he had a stroke in 2010. The stroke weakened him and forced retirement from the Ford Logging Co. He recovered almost completely from the stroke, but never returned to work. Instead he split his time between taking care of his family, fishing, and home repair and renovation. The list of home projects he accomplished are too numerous to list here. The biggest repairs were re-tiling a few floors, and putting on an entire new roof. His favorite project and hobby was gardening. He started with a small area of his back yard to plant some tomatoes, and through the years expanded the garden area to almost his entire back yard. He planted two peach trees and two apple trees. Every year he expanded the area of his garden and increased how many vegetables he would plant. He also added a new fruit tree every year. He had a garage with a collapsed roof and old rotting posts. Instead of repairing the garage he decided he would much rather have a huge green house. Over the course of a summer he demolished the garage. It was always in his nature to reuse things as much as he could, sometimes reusing things 2 or 3 times. The wood that held up the sides of the garage became a beautiful fence. He constructed the greenhouse over the concrete of the driveway, thus giving him even more places to grow his plants.
It's very difficult to sum up a man's life in a few short words. There is so much more that he accomplished, so much more he loved, and so much more that he was proud of. Everyone here that knows Patricia, knows that she could talk for hours about their many years together. But that will be for another day. Today is about saying goodbye to Leroy as he is laid into his final resting place.
We are not trying to get rich from our tragedy. We are just trying to raise the $15,000 to cover the cost of the simple graveside service. The following is a list of the expenses that we have or will be accruing. $2200 for mortuary, $7500 for cemetery, $1250 for casket, $150 for flowers, $150 photos, $60 refreshments, $250 headstone setting, $837 obituary one paper, $562 obituary second paper, $560 gas and tolls for trips to San Francisco Medical Center. The remainder of the money raised would go to fees and taxes that have not yet been calculated. Thank you for any donation you can make, or thank you for leaving an uplifting comment.
The Eulogy:
Leroy was born in 1944 to Willie Mae and Oscar Mitchell in Magee Mississippi. He was the eldest of 6 brothers. His family attended a local Baptist church where he was baptized. One of his treasured possession in life is a bible that he earned through memorizing bible verses. His father left the family early in Leroy's life and as the eldest brother he was given the burden of helping his mother support the family financially. He was picking cotton and other farm work at the age of 10. As well as hunting and fishing, not for sport but out of necessity. In the mid-fifties the family moved to Houston, Texas. Leroy, his mother, and his older brothers went to work on a chicken farm. He was driving and delivering eggs before he was 12 years old. His teen years were spent working at a Texas barbeque restaurant inspiring a lifelong passion for cooking and barbeque.
In 1960 his mother married Howard Newton. He owned a logging operation in Mendocino County. So the newlyweds along with the 3 youngest sons moved to Navarro. Leroy and this brother Bobby remained in Houston. He continued working at the Miller Burger and Barbeque joint. He worked his way up to being manager of the 5 restaurants. In 1962 Leroy reunited with his family in Navarro and began working for the California Department of Forestry in Boonville. After being laid off for the winter by the CDF, Leroy moved to Ukiah and began working for the House of Garner Restaurant.
In 1966 Leroy and his brother Bobby were drafted. Bobby joined the marines and was sent to Vietnam. His other brother Terry was drafted into Army and was sent to South Korea. Leroy chose to join the US Army, but was never sent oversees. Leroy spent most of his time in the Army stationed at Fort Benning Georgia. After being discharged from service in 1968 Leroy and his brother Bobby returned to Ukiah and the next day went to work for SanHedrin Logging in Pottery Valley. Leroy used his first paycheck to buy a blue Camaro. Both started out as knot bumpers, then moving on to cat skinners, building forestry roads, and erosion prevention. Leroy eventually was trained to run a tempco feller buncher.
In 1970 Leroy began working on his pilot's license. He was living in Reno and flying all around the area in a small Cessna 150. Then went to Oakland to use his GI education bill to train for his commercial license. In 1971 he built his first ski boat from a kit. He and his father in law used the boat for fishing in Fort Bragg and Lake Mendocino. His wife Patricia and her friends used the boat for skiing.
Leroy had many hobbies and interests through the years. When he was a boy, his parents took him to the Grand Ole Opry to see Hank Williams Sr. This inspired a life long love of country music. In the 70's the married couple had many trips to country music concerts. He also loved reading westerns and had read every Louis L'Amour novel. He also watched repeatedly nearly every western that was made. Leroy was always good with his hands, he was able to make any mechanical repairs, whether it was cars, boats, or tractors.
Leroy met his future wife Patricia Bennett at her birthday in 1968. They were married in Redwood Valley in 1970. Leroy was working as a logger during the dry season, and a reserve sheriff's deputy during the winter. In 1975 the couple bought a home in Ukiah where they would live the rest of their lives. On Leroy's 35th birthday the couple welcomed their first son Samuel. Two years later their second son Jimmy was born, and in 1984 his precious daughter Kimberley was born. From that point forward Leroy was working as a logger during the dry seasons and as a stay at home dad during the rainy seasons.
Leroy was already being treated for diabetes when he had a stroke in 2010. The stroke weakened him and forced retirement from the Ford Logging Co. He recovered almost completely from the stroke, but never returned to work. Instead he split his time between taking care of his family, fishing, and home repair and renovation. The list of home projects he accomplished are too numerous to list here. The biggest repairs were re-tiling a few floors, and putting on an entire new roof. His favorite project and hobby was gardening. He started with a small area of his back yard to plant some tomatoes, and through the years expanded the garden area to almost his entire back yard. He planted two peach trees and two apple trees. Every year he expanded the area of his garden and increased how many vegetables he would plant. He also added a new fruit tree every year. He had a garage with a collapsed roof and old rotting posts. Instead of repairing the garage he decided he would much rather have a huge green house. Over the course of a summer he demolished the garage. It was always in his nature to reuse things as much as he could, sometimes reusing things 2 or 3 times. The wood that held up the sides of the garage became a beautiful fence. He constructed the greenhouse over the concrete of the driveway, thus giving him even more places to grow his plants.
It's very difficult to sum up a man's life in a few short words. There is so much more that he accomplished, so much more he loved, and so much more that he was proud of. Everyone here that knows Patricia, knows that she could talk for hours about their many years together. But that will be for another day. Today is about saying goodbye to Leroy as he is laid into his final resting place.
Organizer
Todd Harpe
Organizer
Ukiah, CA