Obituary of Robert S Mitchell

Robert Sherman Mitchell, 97, a longtime resident of Darien, CT, passed away peacefully on June 4 while surrounded by family. Born on August 24, 1925 in Richmond Hill, New York to Walter B. Mitchell and Anna Sherman, Bob dedicated his life to family, friends and community.

Bob began his college career at Princeton University, where he combined his studies with playing on the baseball team and singing with the a cappella group the Nassoons. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Bob did not hesitate to volunteer for the U.S. Navy. He served on a minesweeper in both the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters. He ended his naval career as the executive officer of the USS YMS-117. He was awarded the American Theater Medal an Asiatic-Pacific Theater Medal and the World War Victory Medal. In recognition of his military service, Bob was the Grand Marshal of Darien's Memorial Day Parade in 2018.

When the war ended, Bob resumed his college studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating with a degree in economics. He then started what became a 39-year career at Union Carbide Corporation where his responsibilities included heading marketing for Prestone antifreeze.

Since moving to Darien in 1970, Bob has been a community and church leader. Among other activities to which he dedicated his time and experience, Bob volunteered at Norwalk Hospital in the Emergency Department for 25 years, a Lector, Eucharistic Minister and on the Parish Council for St. Thomas More Church, President and member of the Darien Men's Club.

The most important aspect of Bob's life was family. He met Mary Meskill at The Jug End Barn, a ski resort in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts and they married in 1958. He cherished the nearly 61 years, seven children and twenty grandchildren they had together. There were family and extended family trips of sightseeing, skiing and beach time. Bob loved tennis, golf, singing, telling stories, reading history and watching his kids and grandkids' shows and games.

Bob is survived by his son Tom (May) children Sarah and Emily of San Jose, CA; son John (Alex) children Sydney and Nicholas of Westlake Village, CA; son Bob children Dylan and Andrew of Cushing, ME; daughter Kara Gregory (Mark) children Connor, Ryan, Megan, Matthew and Clare of Darien, CT; daughter Barbara Weingold (Daniel) children Shea, Eamon and Catherine of Alexandria, VA; daughter Mia Cortellesi (Charles) children Thomas and Sophia of New York NY; and daughter Joan Carlo (John) children Mary Cate, Grace, Caroline and Jack of Darien, CT. In addition to his parents and his wife, Bob was predeceased by his sister, Marianne Mitchell.

In recent years, Bob lived at Atria Senior Living in Darien where he had many close friends among the staff and residents whom he truly considered to be a part of his extended family.

A wake will be held at Edward Lawrence Funeral Home, 2119 Post Road, Darien on Friday June 9 between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday June 10 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Thomas More Church, 374 Middlesex Road, Darien. Burial with full military honors will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 10 W. Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne, NY. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to the Connecticut Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.