Robert "Bob" E. Mitchell

Robert E. Mitchell June 3, 1921 August 12, 2015 Robert "Bob" E. Mitchell of Waco, Texas, passed away Wednesday, August 12, 2015. His memorial service will be 2:00 p.m., Saturday, August 15, at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church Chapel with Rev. Ron Durham officiating. The burial will be 10:00 a.m., Saturday, August 15, at the Salado Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be 6:00 8:00 p.m., Friday, August 14, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Garden Room. Robert was born June 3, 1921, in Cleburne, Texas, to Ed and Jenny Hudson Mitchell. He was the youngest of five children. After his high school graduation, Bob worked for the City National Bank of Cleburne. He served his country during WWII in Hawaii, Australia and Dutch New Guinea. He was a member of the 24th Infantry Division and attached to the finance department. Bob attended Baylor with the help of the G.I. Bill. After graduating from Baylor, he also graduated from Southwestern Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, in 1951. He was an ordained minister and pastored the Covington Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Karnes City, First Baptist Church of Georgetown, The Terrell Hills Baptist Church in San Antonio and the First Baptist Church of Anahuac. All these churches were in Texas. Bob worked for the Office of Economic Opportunity in Jackson, Mississippi, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency, and then prior to his retirement, he worked for the Texas Commission on Human Rights. He worked until he was 79 years old. He always said, "Work doesn't hurt anyone." Bob sang in a quartet during the Waco Youth Revival that started the Youth Revival movement that swept the South in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was an active member of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church and was song leader for the Frank Wilson Sunday School Class. Bob married long-time friend, Betty Jones, after the death of his first wife. They had 15 years together. Betty and Bob took several trips and attended many Baylor athletic events. Being happily married brought many blessings to Bob, and he left a host of old friends and new friends that came about with his marriage to Betty. Preceding him in death were his parents; his first wife, Ruth Moss Mitchell, to whom he was married 52 years; sisters, Ira Ewing, Marie Tunnel and Grace Hobson; and brother, Glenn Mitchell. He is survived by his wife, Betty; son, Bob Mitchell III and wife, Judy; daughter, Carol Vanderslice and husband, David; stepson, Jeffrey Jones and wife, Sheryl; grandchildren, Caroline Vanderslice Waller and husband, Ryan, Preston and Pierce Vanderslice and Jeffrey Morris Jones, Jr.; and great grandchildren, Ford Casey Waller and Charles Henry Waller. Memorials may be made to Columbus Avenue Baptist Church. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.WHBfamily.com.