Julia Colacino Mitchell

Born on January 19, 1948, the eldest child of Nicholas and Janice (Olson) Colacino, she grew up on Des Moines’ South Side attending St. Anthony’s School until the family moved to West Des Moines, where she attended Sacred Heart School, and eventually graduated from St. Joseph’s Academy in 1966. A consummate perfectionist, she excelled in whatever she put her heart into, first as a student at St. Joseph’s and then at Mundelein College (Chicago) eventually graduating from Drake University with History and Education majors, intending to teach and then attend law school. When Marriage and Motherhood ensued she instead threw herself into raising four wonderful sons, imbuing them with strong ideals and supporting and advocating for them through the ups and downs of Middle School, Valley High School, Little League, Y- and Salvation Army basketball, various AAU teams and organizations, myriad soccer and football experiences; as well as academic pursuits like Odyssey of the Mind, Math Counts, and Quiz Bowl; serving on and leading athletic and academic boards, booster clubs, and other support organizations. She was also All-World at putting together home-made Halloween costumes with whatever materials happened to be on hand. She lived by the Golden Rule, and her favorite mantras were “Anything worth doing is worth doing well” and “To whom much is given, much is expected.” She felt that the house should be clean, the garden weed-free, and meals should be hot and eaten together as a family whenever possible.

Along the way, she lent her energy and organizational skills to enterprises that allowed her to be home with her children, including as a Religious Ed (CCD) teacher, a Medical Billing Supervisor, an Association Manager with Diversified Management Services, and as Office Manager and General Assistant to Bill Smith for the Organization of MISO States (OMS), from which she retired in 2015.

She met her husband-to-be Denny Mitchell on December 7, 1967, finding an immediate bond in their common love for the University of Notre Dame, where he was a student, where they were married, and where three of their sons, a daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter all graduated. Notre Dame would become the backdrop for much of their life together, providing many valued friendships and memories, plus a certain amount of tension on Saturday afternoons in the fall.

Soon after her oldest granddaughter was born in 1998 Julie became “Grandma Juju”, which defined her primary passion for the rest of her life. She leapt at every opportunity to gather her continually expanding family for trips to places like the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls; for family reunions and weddings in New York, Columbus, Los Angeles and the Monterey Peninsula, turning them all into memorable cousins’ adventures; and vacations all along the Outer Banks and up and down the Florida Coast. Everyone who knew her understood her deep sense of the importance of family, much of which evolved from her Italian roots, especially the marvelous food that came along with it, including recipes passed along from her paternal grandmother Julia Leonetti Colacino, whose name she proudly bore. She fulfilled a lifelong dream when she was able to travel to Calabria in southern Italy in 2016 and visit family and places that represented the heritage that meant so much to her upbringing.

Juju leaves behind to cherish her memory her husband Dennis (Denny); sons Brian (Kelly Fitzpatrick) and Kevin (Sarah Broering) of Upper Arlington, Ohio; Patrick (Amber Abbas), of Park Ridge, Illinois, and Matthew (Ashley Mohr) of New York City; grandchildren Claire, Molly, and Bridget of Upper Arlington, PFC John (JT) of Ft Benning, Georgia, Luke, and Allie of Upper Arlington, Nick, Charlie and Harper of Park Ridge, Illinois, and Eden and Iris of New York City; as well as siblings Antonio (Tony) Colacino of West Des Moines and Nicholette Colacino, of Des Moines, plus many nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws (including about 120 Mitchells and her Italian exchange student Andrew Catalano). All knew her as a caring, strong-willed but fun-loving matriarch who reveled in her Italian roots and willingly shared her opinions, her love, and her wonderful recipes to prove it.

Julie was preceded in death by her parents and by her daughter Mary Janice, who died at birth. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday September 13 at 10:00 am at St. Agatha Catholic Church in Upper Arlington, OH. Visitation will be at Schoedinger Northwest Chapel, 1740 Zollinger Road. Upper Arlington on Friday September 12 from 6-8:00 pm. A Memorial Service will be conducted at a later date at the Cedar Grove Cemetery at the University of Notre Dame, where Julie’s remains will be interred. The family would like to thank Heartland Hospice Care, particularly Rebecca Walton, who spent many hours providing compassionate palliative care; Dr. Joseph Dusseau, her primary care physician, for his guidance, support, and friendship; the staffs at both the OSU Wexner Medical Center and the Martha Morehouse Neuroendocrine Cancer Center for their professional care over the past year, particularly Dr. Dipen Patel, her Medical Oncologist. In lieu of flowers, donations in Julie’s name can be made to the Des Moines Catholic Workers House, 1310 7th Street, Des Moines, IA 50314.