John W. Mitchell Sr.

John W Mitchell Sr, 84, passed away on Saturday, December 24, in Self Regional Medical Center, Greenwood, South Carolina, after a sudden illness. John was born in Wichita Kansas on March 30, 1938 to Meldon & Mary Mitchell. Married Barbara J Wolf on July 22, 1957. Married Mary J Sage on August 24, 2004, where else but at Atwood Golf Course where they met. He Served the country he loved in the U.S. Navy for 22 years. This afforded him & his family the opportunity to travel many parts of the world. After retirement from the U.S. Navy, John & his family settled in the Rockford area where, he worked at Gunite Corporation, Aqua Aerobics, & Ingersoll Machine Tools. In 2005, John & Mary Jo moved to South Carolina, settling in at Savannah Lakes in McCormick. John was an avid golfer & missed playing in his final years.

John is survived by his wife, Mary Jo, children, John W Mitchell Jr, Linda (Jose) Rodriguez, & Mark (Jennifer) Mitchell. Stepchildren Tim (Laura) Sage, Jeff (Cindy) Sage, & Rick (Peggy) Sage. Grandchildren Desiree Mitchell, John W Mitchell III, Jaclyn Herrera, Ashley Fry, Stephanie Vallance, Kane Mitchell, & Connor Mitchell. Great Grandchildren Lorenzo Herrera, Ava Vallance, Emmalinn Vallance, & Decker Montgomery. He is predeceased by parents (Meldon & Mary Mitchell), first wife (Barbara), son (Michael), & siblings (Larry, Meldon Jr., Betty Thacker, & Quila Roberts).

Visitation will be from 1 – 2 PM with a funeral immediately following on Friday, January 6, 2023, at Sunset Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens, 8800 North Alpine Road, Machesney Park, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, any donations can be made in John’s memory to Tunnel to Towers Foundation.