Gordon John Mitchell

Gordon John Mitchell, age 97, died Friday, May 27, 2016 at his residence.

Mr. Mitchell was born August 10, 1918 in Youngstown, Ohio, a son of John and Catherine Bannon Mitchell. He graduated from Youngstown South High School in June, 1936, where he was a member of the basketball and baseball teams. He graduated from Wittenberg University in 1940 with a B.A. in business. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

Gordon was a Navy Lieutenant in World War II serving in the South Pacific as captain of an aviation rescue boat. He also served in the Korean War at the Recruit Training Center in Bainbridge, Maryland.

He worked for Republic Steel Corporation, Truscon and Manufacturing Divisions for 35 years as director of Industrial Relations for 28 plants and warehouses throughout the United States. He retired in 1979 as Executive Director for the Manufacturing Association of Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

Gordon served on the Board of Directors for the Youngstown Human Relations Committee; The Ohio Society for the Blind; Campus Life - Youth For Christ; The Mahoning Valley Industrial Management Association; The Trumbull County Management Association and Tippecanoe Country Club. He was a member of Republic Steel’s Speaker’s Bureau and an instructor in their Building Political Leadership Program. He was honored in 1973 by The Industrial Commission of Ohio, Division of Safety and Hygiene where he received the division’s first award for outstanding service in the promotion of occupational safety.

Gordon was an avid sportsman. He was a charter member of the Lutheran Men’s Bowling League; played football for the Newport Athletic Club; softball for Crawford Market - Dunning Crum as well as for Martin Luther Lutheran Church. He won many golf awards as a member of Tippecanoe County Club for 48 years.

He was a life- long active member of Martin Luther Lutheran Church where he served as chairman of Church Council and Congregational President for several terms as well as chairman of many of the church boards. He was a Sunday School teacher and served as principal of the Adult Sunday School department for over 30 years. He was also a member of Sulgrave Masonic Lodge.

Gordon loved children, dogs, sports, his church, socializing with his friends and traveling. He was a world traveler with articles written about his travels in the Vindicator; AAA Travel News and Grand Circle Travel News. He visited all seven continents including 197 countries. His first desire was big ship ocean cruising, traveling on world cruises of over 90 days each. He totaled over 400 days at sea. In addition, he liked river cruising and took 10 cruises in Europe and Africa. He had over 200 days of tours on land outside the United States, many of the locations he visited more than once.

Some of his favorite visits were the Taj Mahal in India; The Great Wall and Tera Cotta Soldiers in China; the ruins of Ankor Wat in Cambodia; Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe; Machu Picchu in Peru; Easter Island; the Great Barrier Reef and Outback in Australia and Antarctica.

His wife, the former Winnie Roodhouse died May 9, 1997. Two sisters, Jane Rose and Ruth Irene and two step brothers, Edward Davis and George Cummings are deceased.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, 11:00 AM at the Martin Luther Lutheran Church in Youngstown, with Pastor Dave Kamphuis officiating. Interment will follow at Lake Park Cemetery. Friends may call Thursday from 9:30 AM until 10:45 AM at the church.

The family requests that any gifts please take the form of contributions to The Memorial Fund of Martin Luther Lutheran Church, 420 Clearmount Dr., Youngstown, OH 44511

Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Davis-Becker Funeral Home in Boardman.