John Baptist Mitchell was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 2, 1922 the son of Harry and Minnie Mitchell. He spent his early years in St. Paul, Minnesota, but his family moved to Wisconsin and he graduated from the Milltown High School. On January 9, 1942 he entered the United States Navy and served during World War II. He was honorably discharged on October 30, 1945. Not long after returning home he was married to Eileen Rose Sheehan on January 19, 1946 and together they raised two sons. He spent a short time working for Social Services in Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, but then moved to St. Paul where he began a long career with Minnesota Plastics. He started making dies in the shop and worked his way up to eventually being the Plant Manager and at that point it was owned by Standard Oil Company. He moved to Arizona where he also worked for Standard Oil until it was purchased by BP. He retired and moved back to St. Paul. He and Eileen moved to Amery, Wisconsin to enjoy their retirement years. When she needed more care she moved to Willow Ridge Nursing Home. After her death in 2000 John moved to Pondhurst in Amery. In July of 2013 he moved to Edgewood Vista Apartments in Hermantown, Minnesota so he could be closer to his family. John was a longtime member of the VFW. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, but was also very active in playing darts and pitching horseshoes where he won several tournaments. John passed away at his apartment on Tuesday, October 28, 2014 at the age of 92 years.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Eileen and son Tom. Surviving family members include his son Jay Mitchell; grandsons Andy and Kai Mitchell; two great grandchildren as well as other relatives and friends.


Memorial services will be held on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. at Balsam Lutheran Church in rural Amery. There will be visitation the hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be at the Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.