Donald Mitchell

Donald Mitchell passed away peacefully on Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019, surrounded by his family.

The relatives and friends of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Mitchell are invited to his Mass of Christian Burial to be Celebrated at 10:00 AM, Monday, April 29, 2019, at Nativity Catholic Church. The Rite of Committal, with Military Honors, will follow at 2:00 PM that afternoon at Beaufort National Cemetery. The family will receive friends between 3:00 and 5:00 PM, Sunday afternoon, at the James A. McAlister Funeral Home, 1620 Savannah Hwy., Charleston. The Rosary will be recited at 5:00 PM.

Don was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on December 1, 1939, to the late James Alexander Mitchell and Mary Cecilia McWilliams Mitchell. Growing up in Garwood, New Jersey, he was the youngest of three brothers. Like his older brothers, the late Robert and William Mitchell, Don was blessed with a fierce intellect that brought him to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering in 1961. While at M.I.T., Don met the love of his life, Maureen O’Boyle. They were married in Waban, Massachusetts on August 12, 1961. Wanting to honor his country, Don entered the US Air Force, and during his service he and Maureen were stationed at the airbase in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. After his honorable discharge in 1963, Don decided to push his intellectual pursuits even further, and he and Maureen moved back to Boston where Don enrolled in Harvard University. He received his MBA in 1966.

From there, Don and Maureen moved to the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. As Don began his brilliant career as an innovative leader of companies in the machine tool industry, his family began to grow. Four children later, Don’s success took the family to Toledo, Dayton, Long Island and finally back to South Carolina once again.

Known for his dry wit, warm wisdom and remarkable attention to detail, Don enjoyed carpentry, fishing, travel, spy novels and a good Scotch. He always had time for his family and friends, and there was no problem he couldn’t solve once he applied that powerful mind of his. Despite his enormous accomplishments, it was his family that he was most proud of. It was an honor and privilege to know him. He will be missed beyond words and loved forever.

He is survived by his loving wife, Maureen; his sons: Matt, Don and Patrick; his daughter, Mary Catherine and seven grandchildren: Megan, Tommy and Emily Mitchell; Carys, Ava and Shane Herndon, and Scarlette Mitchell.