William Mitchell

William J. Mitchell was born on August 31, 1965, in Mutare, Zimbabwe. William passed from this life on November 5, 2021, at the William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital in Dallas, surrounded by his children and wife of thirty-three years, after a heroic three-year and two-month battle with metastatic colon cancer.

William was the son of missionaries Loy and Donna Mitchell. He lived and attended primary school in Zimbabwe, surrounded by the picturesque Bvumba Mountains. William moved with his family to the United States in the late 1970s. He graduated from Odessa Permian High School where he excelled academically. A skilled trumpet player, William was band captain and voted “Most Musical” his senior year.

William earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1987 from Abilene Christian University, graduating with university honors and highest honors. While working part-time and taking graduate courses at ACU, he became reacquainted with Karen Sublett, whom he had first met more than a decade earlier. His graduate school plans changed abruptly. After a few months of dating, Karen was keenly aware of the gem she had found in William, and she convinced him to marry her. The two were married on December 17, 1988, in Waco, Texas, where Karen was attending law school. William moved without complaint to accommodate his wife’s career choices. In addition to Waco, the couple lived in College Station, Austin, and finally in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex (DFW). Along the way, William earned a Master’s Degree, with highest honors from Texas A&M University, and completed all coursework for a PhD.

Upon arrival in DFW in 1995, William had the good fortune of being hired into the first of several positions at American Airlines (AA). He was fascinated with the aviation industry. Few people could compete with his knowledge of aircraft or history of the airline industry. Over the years, his favorite role was Managing Director of Customer Research. He remained passionate until his death about his work for AA.

William’s love for AA was surpassed only by his love for God, family, and friends. William was a true Bible scholar, teacher, and mentor. In addition to teaching adult Bible classes for more than three decades, William was a skilled worship leader. He had a beautiful singing voice and perfect pitch. He particularly loved to sing hymns. It was not unusual for William to move seamlessly from bass to tenor, demonstrating a remarkable vocal range.

William had a special way of making new friends. This was because he genuinely loved people and wanted to know more about them. His AA friends, church friends, and neighbors were always on his mind and in his heart. He was particularly blessed in his later years to be part of the customer experience group at AA, whose leadership and team members walked the hardest part of his journey with him. He also adored all the members of his of Wednesday night devotional class, Sunday afternoon small group, and church families at Prestoncrest, Riverside, and South MacArthur.

Nothing compared, however, to William’s absolute devotion to Karen and their four children. He enjoyed traveling with the family on frequent trips to Legoland in California when the children were small and to more “adult” destinations like New York, London, and Tokyo as the children matured. Monterey, California, was one of his favorite places to relax and enjoy the sounds of the Pacific Ocean. He also enjoyed taking long walks with the family, gardening, listening to a wide range of music, and watching sports and old movies. Astronomy was another one of his interests. He loved looking at the stars and planets and marveling at God’s creation. He also developed an interest in golfing later in life, mainly because he enjoyed time on the golf course with his oldest son, Will. William was notorious for his mulligans, but it was all part of the fun. Scores did not matter.

William’s greatest joy was being a dad. He was proud of each of his children’s accomplishments. Whether attending one of their many recitals and performances, planting flags around the neighborhood as part of the Great Flag Caper, or sitting and talking about every subject imaginable, he simply loved being with the children, and he was grateful that they all enjoyed being with each other. He encouraged them each day, both by words and example, to be lights in this world of darkness.

While in Houston for cancer treatment in August, William was pleased to make a trip to NASA Johnson Space Center, something he had not done for many years, with two of the children. His knowledge of spacecraft and missions made the trip particularly interesting. It is fitting, though, that the very last trip William made did not involve any cancer treatment. He flew on his beloved AA in September to attend an Eagles concert in Denver with the love of his life, Karen. He enjoyed for the last time the live music of one of his favorite bands while sitting by her side.

William is preceded in death by his parents, Loy and Donna Mitchell, his brother, Stan Mitchell, and his mother-in-law, Joann Sublett. He is survived by his wife, Karen Mitchell, and four amazing children: William (Will) Mitchell, Jr. and fiancée, Avery; David Mitchell; Katherine Mitchell; and Lauren Mitchell, all of Irving, Texas. He is also survived by his father-in-law, Pat Sublett, of Gordon, Texas; two sisters, Nancy Wheat and husband, Bobby, of Waco, Texas, and Marcia Redd and husband, Lee, of Bethlehem, Georgia; and two sisters-in-law, Marj Mitchell of Henderson, Tennessee, and Jill Coan and husband, Steve, of Colleyville, Texas. He also leaves behind thirteen special nieces and nephews.

The family is grateful for the many years of love and encouragement poured out by family and friends. William received a mountain of cards and letters, as well as texts, emails, phone calls, and Facebook posts. These kind gestures of hundreds of people kept him encouraged. He treasured everything in his heart.

A celebration of William’s life will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 14, at Prestoncrest Church of Christ, 6022 Preston Crest Lane, Dallas, Texas, with Dr. Gordon Dabbs officiating. The family will receive guests between 1:00 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. in the church foyer. Guests are encouraged to enter the auditorium to listen or join in pre-service congregational singing between 1:45 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. To ensure that family, friends, and co-workers can celebrate William’s life safely, the family respectfully asks that all guests act with personal responsibility, including not attending if experiencing any COVID-like symptoms. The two outermost sections of the auditorium will be reserved for guests who want others around them to wear masks, and these sections will be specifically marked to indicate that masks are required. Masks will be optional in the remainder of the auditorium.

While flowers are welcome, AA has established a scholarship fund for William’s minor children at the American Airlines Credit Union. Those who wish to make a donation to honor him in lieu of flowers may mail checks payable to “Mitchell Children Scholarship Fund” to: American Airlines Credit Union, PO BOX 619001 MD 2100, Dallas, TX 75261-9614.

William had a special place in his heart for the Mutare School of Preaching in Zimbabwe, which his parents helped establish in 1958, and for several other international and local mission efforts. An alternative way to honor him would be to send a memorial donation to Mutare School of Preaching, c/o Hillcrest Church of Christ, 650 East Ambler Ave, Abilene, Texas 79601 (online at https://pushpay.com/g/hillcrestonline) or to Prestoncrest Urban Missions under Special Contributions at https://prestoncrest.org/give. Please note William Mitchell memorial donation.