David Lee Mitchell

David Lee Mitchell lived a life of love and adventure, always one step ahead of the next big thing. He loved ending a phone call with a sweet goodbye or a wild phrase he picked up from a movie or television show. One of his favorites was, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, and he always had a ‘helluva’ story to tell.

David was born in Big Spring, Texas to Dorothy and Coy Mitchell. He spent the first six weeks of his life in the hospital, so sick, doctors worried he wouldn’t make it. But his family knew he would. They knew David was a fighter, so bold and brazen that his story wouldn’t end in a hospital nursery. Surgery saved him and David never looked back. He grew up loving motorcycles, Star Wars and the rock band Kiss. He loved telling people he saw them at the Ector County Coliseum at the age of 7 with his dad.

David graduated from Permian High School and Texas Tech University. For so long his life was cycling, photography and movies. He volunteered as a projectionist during the early years of South by Southwest always ready to talk film and tequila with anyone who had a story to share. He found his way into the corporate world of supply chain management and moved from Austin to Florida searching for something, bigger and better and his one true love.

He found her just waiting for him in Juarez, Mexico. His ultimate story is his love for Claudia Chavez Mitchell. Claudia opened his heart and welcomed him into a new world of extended family, travel and creating a home. They settled in Odessa and built a life surrounded by family, their pets and the love of a lifetime that ended far too soon.

David is survived by his wife Claudia, his mother Dorothy, and his brother Guy. David’s extended family includes his grandmother Willie Mae McCollum of Mason, Texas and his stepfather Robert Wilson. David loved being a part of the Chavez family of Delicious, Mexico and marking birthday’s, weddings and graduations with his new brothers and sisters because he says, “They know how to love and have a great time.”

He loved and was loved by Claudia’s siblings: Irene, Rosana, Hilda, Sarita, Fachis, Estela, Lala, Gerardo, Cornelio, and Luis; their spouses and children. And Daniel Pitts and his sons.

A visitation is set for 11am at Frank W. Wilson funeral home in Odessa. A memorial service will follow at 1pm.

In lieu of flowers donations to the Humane Society or the National Kidney Foundation would be greatly appreciated.