John W. Mitchell

John W. Mitchell - loving husband, father and a man who lived an amazing life. John William Thomas Mitchell was born on March 11, 1932 and raised on a farm in Hallsboro, NC. His parents, Bertha Mae Mitchell & Sim C. Mitchell, owned a tobacco and corn farm, and two stores. His brothers and sisters worked in the stores while John worked outdoors on the farm along side his mother. He said, “She was the only one he could work with because she was the only one strong enough to work along side with me.” John attended Artesia Primary School in Hallsboro, NC and proved to be extremely bright. He started school in the first grade and skipped the second & eighth grades. He said he was able to skip these grades by listening to the instructors of the upper classes. He continued on to high school where he attended Whiteville High School in Whiteville, NC. After completing high school, he continued on to higher education and was accepted to North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC. He initially pursued Agriculture as his field of study, but after one year, he yearned to do something new and different from what he had done his whole childhood life. He loved Chemistry and quickly changed his major to bio-chemistry, where he graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry and decided to set his sights on becoming a Medical Doctor. John remembered growing up on the farm and looking up in the sky to watch the airplanes fly. He would watch these planes fly until they were completely out of his sight. He wondered and dreamed what it would be like—to fly one of those planes. During his tenure at North Carolina A&T, John enrolled in Air Force R.O.T.C and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant upon graduation. He applied to two medical schools and flight school. While waiting in anticipation for an acceptance letter into Medical School, he received an acceptance letter from the U.S. Air Force for basic flight school. That fall, he took his very first flight from Columbus, MS to Tucson, AZ in route to attend flight school and immediately fell in love with flying stating, “It was everything I thought it would be!” John completed the program and in 1953, he met his bride, Helen Stewart and it was love at first sight. They married four weeks later. During his early career, John was assigned to fly C-141 Jets. On one assignment, he was commissioned to fly from Myrtle Beach, SC to Dover, DE and would be passing over his hometown of Hallsboro. He navigated his way to pinpoint the location of his house by following the swamps to Lake Waccamaw, descended to 1,500-ft and circled over the house where he could see his dad and others in the yard. He made a few circles and continued his flight to Dover, DE. On another assignment in Myrtle Beach, John was appointed to fly a two-engine aircraft from Myrtle Beach, SC to Washington, DC. He phoned his mom to let her know he would be passing over the house again. While flying over, one of the crewmembers cracked the back door and dropped out a roll of toilet paper. The paper landed directly in the yard and the family gathered it up looking for messages. They saved that roll of toilet paper and kept it to show John when he returned. Over his 21-year career as a pilot, John was promoted to the high rank of Lieutenant Colonel and appointed as a special air missions pilot for the 89th Military Airlift Wing of Andrews Air Force Base. He had countless memorable experiences throughout his career. One of his most memorable flight experiences was his assignment to the John F. Kennedy Family. The JFK Aircraft carrier was being christened in Norfolk, VA and he was assigned to fly former First Lady Jacquelyn Kennedy-Onasis, Ted Kennedy and her children, John John and Caroline to Norfolk, VA. His second most memorable experience was his appointment to Former President Richard Nixon. On October 8, 1971, John was appointed to fly the President to Elkins, WV. President Nixon’s assigned pilot Col. Ralph Albertazzie was inexperienced to operate the necessary aircraft and land under the unique conditions of this particular airfield. Lt. Col. John W. Mitchell was hand-selected as the most qualified to achieve this mission and became the first African-American Air Force One pilot to fly a sitting U.S. President. John continued for the duration of his career to fly Air Force One and countless dignitaries and Heads of State such as General Alexander Haig, former President Richard Nixon, Former Prime Minister of Israel Golda Miere, Former President of Chad Francois Tombalbay, Former Air Force Chief of Staff of South Korea and former Vice-President Humphrey. John completed one tour of the Vietnam War and was assigned to various countries all over the world including Guam, Thailand, Newfoundland and Japan. John retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1974. During his retirement, he enjoyed his family and friends immensely and continued his love for the outdoors with hobbies of gardening, fishing, and automotive mechanics. He spent quality time in group activities enjoying family barbeques, bowling teams, poker clubs and fishing excursions. He raised a beautiful family of four with his wife Helen, eight grand children and four great-grandchildren. John W. Mitchell passed in peace on May 25, 2019 at the age of 87. He is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Helen Mitchell, who will miss him dearly. Brother to Aurilla Boaz (deceased), Sim Mitchell, Doshia Burton, Sarah “Thetus” Boyd and James “Micky” Mitchell (deceased). Loving father of four: Michael Mitchell, Donna Ashby, Phyllis Austin (deceased) and Debra Webster (deceased). Proud grandfather of eight: Phyllis Webster, Donna Webster, Justin Webster, George (Frankie) Jackson III, Michael Mitchell Jr., Carmen Mitchell, Shannan Austin and Skyler Austin. Doting great-grandfather of four: Rainin, Riley, Nubia and Xavier. He is further survived by the endless love of brothers-in law, sisters-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and life long friends. John will be forever remembered by family and friends as a loving husband, active father, dedicated family member, loyal friend and a highly decorated officer of the U.S. Air Force. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of John W. Mitchell please visit our Sympathy Store.