Jim was born on June 26, 1938, in Madison, WI, to the late Quentin N. and Ruth S. Mitchell. He married the late Johanna M. Giese in June 1963. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a BA, Jim also held an MA in Early American Decorative Arts as a Winterthur Fellow from the University of Delaware, and an MA in Public Administration from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.

Although Jim began his post-graduate life considering an engineering degree, anyone who knew him knew his heart and mind belonged with history and the museum business, and that is the direction he eventually took. After graduating from UW and UD, he worked at the Bennington Museum in Vermont, the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, the Carborundom Museum of Ceramics in Niagara Falls, New York, the William Penn Memorial Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and finally at the West Virginia Cultural Center in Charleston.

Jim lived his life “walking to the beat of a different drummer” as anyone who knew him would agree. He loved his Hawaiian shirts and colorful ties, the brighter the better. Jim loved the years he was able to be Santa in the Charleston area for so many children and pets. He was a brilliant man who remembered everyone he met and everything he learned. And he loved to learn. Jim knew his antiques and was an avid collector. He could tell you if a rifle was authentic to the Hatfield and McCoy period, even appearing on a TV show about one of those rifles. He loved his God and his church and was faithful to the end. Jim was known for his double-bass voice and singing as loud as he could, regardless of where he was. He and his daughter sang the Army fight song, On Wisconsin, and I’ve Got the Joy Down in my Heart in the ER on the last day he was able to speak.

Jim is survived by his daughter Fritzi Schreffler and her husband David of Mechanicsburg, PA, his son James R. Mitchell Jr. and his wife Anne of Mechanicsburg, PA, and his son Nick Mitchell of Charleston. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Steven, Matthew, and Leah Schreffler, Emily and Allison Mitchell, and Jacey Carlile and her husband Nick. A great-granddaughter, Ariah Schreffler, also survives him.

Condolences may be sent to his family at www.barlowbonsall.com .

Barlow Bonsall Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.