Mary Rose Mitchell

Mary Rose Van Engelen Mitchell was born on a dairy farm in Faribault, Minnesota, on September 4, 1923. Although she enjoyed her upbringing on the farm, she complained about milking cows in the cold Minnesota mornings for almost all of her life. Mary’s father had immigrated from the Netherlands, and Mary cherished her Dutch heritage. She was close to her cousins in south Holland, and traveled to visit them on a number of occasions. Mary had two sisters and one brother, who have preceded her into the next world. She was a proud graduate of Bethlehem Academy, a Catholic school near her hometown. In a spirit of adventure and patriotism in her youth, she embarked on a life changing adventure, boarding a train to travel to faraway Washington, DC, during World War II. With her nimble fingers and flare for grammar, she landed positions in the Civil Service and on Capitol Hill. While dancing the jitterbug one night in a church hall, she was spotted by the love of her life, a dashing, dark-haired clarinet player, Russell Anthony Mitchell. The two were married for 68 years, only parting due to his death in 2013. (Yes, really; 68 years.) Mary raised two children, Barbara Ann and Russell James. While Mary was happy to care for her family and bake her regionally famous pumpkin bars, she decided to return to work in the late 1960s. Her nimble fingers flying across the typewriters once again, she soon became known as “Mother Maintenance” at Andrews Air Force Base, keeping the planes running on time. The couple finally fully retired, and Mary perfected her bridge game and continued to volunteer at St. Phillip’s Church. Mary moved from her lifelong home in Camp Springs, Maryland, and moved into Spring Village in California, Maryland in 2014. After a blessedly brief bout of pneumonia, Mary rejoined her husband to dance in the afterlife on October 2, 2016. Among the many who will cherish her memory are her daughter, Barbara Ann Mitchell, her son and daughter-in-law, Russell James and Cindy Mitchell, and her many beloved nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Mary Rose Mitchell please visit our Sympathy Store.