WILMINGTON — Marilyn Mitchell was born in Fremont, Ohio, the daughter of Faye Gobrecht Rutan and was the youngest of three children. She grew up and attended high school in Fremont.
She met her future husband Joseph Mitchell of Bellevue, Ohio at a dance in Clyde, equidistant between the two small towns. The couple were married in 1956. Afterwards they lived in Cleveland, Ohio where Joseph was employed by International Business Machines and Marilyn worked briefly as an X-ray technician until they started a family which grew to four children. They moved to Boardman, Ohio in 1964 where her children grew up. When the children were older, she worked at Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA in their registrar’s office. After Joseph’s retirement in 1987, Marilyn and Joseph moved to Wilmington to escape the Ohio winters.
Marilyn and Joseph were members of St. Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian Church and active in church activities and volunteer work. Marilyn worked part time as a bookkeeper, and for over 20 years at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore as a volunteer. She and Joseph enjoyed travel in the US and Canada and visited Europe. After her husband passed away in 2018, Marilyn moved into the Porters Neck Village retirement community, and spent her time working out, swimming, reading, and playing cards with her friends. In 2022 she won the Community’s doubles cornhole championship.
Marilyn was gifted with a pleasant, strong and resilient nature. She was a woman of high intelligence, with an intuitive sense of compassion and appreciation. Marilyn was also a devoted mother and grandmother, and an excellent cook who baked dozens of birthday cakes, mostly chocolate. She loved cats and rabbits and their antics. She was a happy person.
She will be missed by her family, friends, and the community.
Marilyn passed away quietly at the Davis Community nursing home on the evening of June 10th. She is survived by her children Joseph Mitchell (Diane Conklin), Janine Mitchell, William Mitchell, and Melissa Haldeman (David); and grandchildren William and Krista Mitchell.
A memorial service will be held at the St. Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, June 26th at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Habitat for Humanity or Lower Cape Fear LifeCare.
