Samuel C. Mitchell

A loving husband, father and Paw Paw, he died Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008, at his home in Baton Rouge. He was 91, a native of Napoleonville and a retired Exxon accountant and staff analyst with 32 years of service. He was responsible for consolidating all of Exxon's refining companies' accounting systems in Houston in the mid-1980s. Survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Margie Armstrong Mitchell; daughter, Cathy Mitchell; three sons and their wives, Ronald and Betty Mitchell, Thomas and Patricia Mitchell, and David and Vickie Mitchell; eight grandchildren, Bronwyn, Christopher, Melissa, Daniel, Andrea, Lisa, Justin and Chad; and 10 great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by his parents, Jack and Rosa Mitchell; two sisters, Tina Sabella and Congetta Reasoner; and five brothers, Anthony, Joseph, Roy, Vincent and Steve. He graduated from University High School and LSU with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II and attended Officer Training School at Fort Benning, Ga., where he was commissioned a second lieutenant. On his first overseas tour of duty, he served as a platoon leader with the 3rd Infantry Division. After recuperating from wounds suffered, he served a second tour in Europe as a first lieutenant and company commander in the 28th Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded on the Ziegfried Line in Germany and after many months in the hospital, he received a medical discharge from the Army. He was awarded two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star for heroic achievement, Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service and several battlefield ribbons for action in Italy, France, Belgium and Germany. He was a member of the first Am Vet Post and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Visitation at Rabenhorst Funeral Home East, 11000 Florida Blvd., on Tuesday, Jan. 29, was from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., with recitation of the rosary at 7 p.m. Visitation at St. Aloysius Catholic Church on Wednesday, Jan. 30, from noon until Mass of Christian Burial at 1:30 p.m., with the Rev. Gerald Burns, celebrant. Burial in Greenoaks Memorial Park. Pallbearers will be his grandsons, Christopher, Daniel, Justin and Chad; nephew, Gilbert Blanchard; and grandson-in-law, Jon Ramsey. Donations may be made to St. Aloysius Catholic Church, of which he was a founding member, or the Paralyzed Veterans. The family would like to thank the Eucharistic ministers for the homebound for their visits and prayers.