Gwendell Mitchell
Service: 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, at Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Latonia, Ky., with burial at Highland Cemetery, Fort Mitchell, Ky.; Visitation: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, at the church, with arrangements by Alexandria Funeral Home, Alexandria, Ky.
Gwendell Imogene Mae (Vick) Mitchell, affectionately known as Gwen, declared victory in Jesus Christ and entered into eternal life with Him, at 12:46 a.m. Friday, July 31 (2020) at age 90, while surrounded by her family at St. Elizabeth Hospice in Edgewood, Kentucky.
Gwendell ("Gwen-DELL") was born on Jan. 21, 1930, deep in the Ozark Mountains of Witts Springs, to Elmer Conway and Arzona (Harness) Vick. As an infant she survived pneumonia when the doctor told her mother that he had done all he could do. This began her legacy of overcoming adversity and being more than a conqueror in Christ.
When she was five years old, the family moved on Thanksgiving Day to Paragould, where they spent the winter in a tent with a potbelly stove. By the time she was seven she was helping her family pick cotton on the family farm that her father paid off by logging the timber. She helped with both planting and harvest. She was raised with her five siblings in a Christian home where the family’s faith in God, unflinching work ethic and deep love of family got them through the hard times of the Depression era. As a young teenager, she helped her mother with preserving, canning and all other aspects of managing a farm.
She accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior at Brown's Chapel where nearby she was baptized in a pond. Then she helped a friend become saved by staying up all night with her playing spiritual music on the crank record player. Even as a young girl she was very protective of her family, especially her little brother McKinley whom she championed until her death.
She graduated from Greene County Tech High School in 1949, and resolved to find her purpose beyond the cotton field. That summer, Gwen met the president of Southern Baptist College and expressed an interest in enrolling. He told her she would either find a job or a husband and she replied that she was interested in the first but not the second. That fall, at age 19, she began classes there and within three months met the love of her life, Charles Mitchell. Soon thereafter, Charles asked Gwen's father for his blessing to which he replied that Charles was taking his precious jewel.
Gwen married Charles on Feb. 1, 1950, at the house of the president of Southern Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, and by that summer she was stepping off of the C & O Railroad train in Ashland, Kentucky (Charles' hometown) as a Southern Baptist minister’s wife. From there she followed her husband across Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia, where she was involved in every aspect of his ministry. She helped him grow Baptist missions into full-fledged churches, taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Training Union, and served as a member of the Women's Missionary Union.
Meanwhile she also worked as a maid, telephone operator, secretary to the president of Ashland Oil, and tax examiner for the Internal Revenue Service. Her most prized job, however, was raising and caring for her family. She loved cooking and hosting family for the holidays, especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Gwen was blessed with a beautiful alto singing voice which she used to lift in praise to God, even while doing housework. She sang in choirs and duets with Charles such hymns as "In the Garden" and "Whispering Hope." She also taught herself to play the piano.
In 2000, Gwen and Charles celebrated their 50th anniversary with a trip to Israel and together fulfilled their dream of seeing the Holy Land. While they spent the last of their golden years at Rosedale Green in Latonia, Kentucky, they never wavered from their faith in God and their love and devotion to each other. Gwen and Charles were a match that was truly made in Heaven. In the near 70 years they were united on earth, they were inseparable. Charles often sang to her “Moonlight Becomes You” and she was the subject of many of his poems. Gwen sang “Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehn” to Charles every night before bed.
She was the backbone of her family and she loved her children and grandchildren with an unconditional love and gentle passion that will remain her legacy for generations to come. Despite many health setbacks in her later years, she continued to surprise everyone with her fortitude, strength and selfless nature. Even as she slipped away, her thoughts were still on others. She bore the fruits of the Holy Spirit as a true servant of God until she proclaimed victory in Jesus.
Gwen was preceded in death by her husband, the Rev. Charles H. Mitchell; her parents; three brothers, Arlen, Harvey and Harlie Vick; one sister, Della Ann Jackson; grandchild, Judah Andreas Weigold; and 17 nieces and nephews.
She is survived by three sons, Michael (Cynthia), Mark (Yolanda), and Timothy Mitchell, and daughter, Rebecca (Daniel) Weigold, all of northern Kentucky; five grandchildren, Michaela, Matthew (Samantha), Chloe Mitchell, Christian Sullivan and Henry Weigold; one brother, McKinley (Dorothy) Vick, of Harrison; 27 nieces and nephews including special nieces Christene Ashlock, of Harrison, and Linda Mallow, of Choctaw, Oklahoma, and dear nephew, Kevin Vick of Los Angeles, California.
She is also survived by beloved lifelong friends, the Rev. Raymond and Wanda Atwood, of Jonesboro.
For further insight into Gwen's character, read Proverbs 31:10-31.
Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to service time at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, at Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Latonia, Kentucky. Burial will follow at Highland Cemetery in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.
Masks are required and social distancing must be observed.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Rosedale Green (In Memory of Gwendell Mitchell), 4250 Glenn Avenue, Covington, KY 41015.
