Mitch was born to Clarence Vidrine and Ellie Attales Vidrine, on September 26, 1954.
He is survived by his wife, Kristie Vidrine; his children, Hans Mitchell Vidrine and James Paul Vidrine, both of La Porte, Kurt Vidrine and wife Amanda, of Abilene, and Misty Vidrine Miles and husband Troy, of Bryan; and grandchildren, Blake and Hannah Vidrine, Jameston Vidrine, Benjamin and Anna Vidrine, and Olivia Miles. He is also survived by his sister, Dolores Engel, brother, Bill Vidrine, and several nieces and nephews. In addition, Mitch had many special extended family members and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents Clarence and Ellie Vidrine and his nephew Doug Engel and niece Ann Engel.
Mitch was a diligent individual known for his strong work ethic and exceptional problem-solving ability. For over 35 years, he served as an instrument inspector and field engineer at the Shell Deer Park Site, dedicating his skills and expertise to his profession.
Mitch found joy in working on projects at home, tending to his property, spoiling his “lil doggie,” Presley, and cruising the roads in his beloved Subaru. He was also a proud Cajun who enjoyed cooking dishes like seafood gumbo, etouffee, and chicken sauce piquant.
A true testament to his strength and determination, Mitch reached a noteworthy milestone in his life—celebrating 25 years of sobriety. His resilience and commitment to a sober life not only defined his personal journey but also inspired those who knew him.
The family requests that donations be made to St. Jude’s at stjude.org/donate in Mitch’s honor.
Kurt Vidrine’s Eulogy
for James Mitchell Vidrine
As Jerry Seinfeld would say, “you want to have a tight 5. Tighten up the jokes and get all you can out of the time on stage that you get”... or at least that sounds like something he might say.
My Dad got 69 years on this stage.
I think I’ve got a tight 5 on my dad.
Hello everyone, my dad is Mitch Vidrine.
And I…..am a son - of - a - Mitch
I AM A SON OF A MITCH!
And I have a few stories and what I call “Mitchisms” dad sayings.
He had a ton of wisdom to give in his own “Mitch Ways”
When dad would come home from work, he would open the door and yell “Little Doggy, little doggy!!! Yelling for My mom’s dog, Presley, which became his dog because he spoiled her. She would be waiting on him and he would pet her good and they would chase each other around the kitchen and then he would let her pull his sock off with her teeth.
“You smell like a lizard.”
If we came in from being outside, he would smell our heads and say that. “You smell like a lizard, you smell like outside.”
“Look at the head on that guy” he would say this when you came in to the room sometimes. It was his way to say hello, to make you smile and maybe even “I love You”
In reference to trying new foods he would say “Try it….it’ll grow hair on your chest.”
“You got your ass today?” He would say this to a person when we had to go do something. You got your head on straight today? is what he was checking.
Of his Subaru… he would say, “That’s what the car is designed to do!!!! It wants to go fast. I want to go FAST”
He did, he….. went fast.
He would describe his place, his land, as a lake when it would rain hard.
Today feels like a lake.
Dad was an amazing swimmer!!!
And wasn’t afraid of the high dive.
Today feels
Like the deep end.
I’m thankful dad taught us how to swim
His son James Paul told me a story about how amazed he was to watch him execute a flawless dive off the high dive. Dad was fearless.
He would say in reference to my grandpa, “John Kubik is the smartest man I know.” My dad was eternally grateful for that man. He stuck his neck out for Mitch when no one else would and respected the hell out of him.
Dad would proudly say,
“My name is Mitch and I am an alcoholic”
He would say it proudly and with a lot of heart and with his chest at many AA meetings. His sobriety was special to him.
He would say… If you’re going to do something do it right and do it WELL.
Now…. He would also say “Hey good enough for a tree house….a deck, a barn, a rabbit cage, a poultry house, goat pen, a horse barn, a mailbox.” Like it was his way of saying don’t take yourself so seriously. You’re not going to be great at everything. And he wasn’t…but he was a good man that wanted to do things right…..at a pace that drove him too hard sometimes
… and that was thrust on him as a young man.
I was glad I got to tell him long ago that I forgive him and regret not giving him enough grace. When you’re a kid, your Dad is something different. You don’t see your dad as a young man just trying to figure it out, and I respect him and love him for the man he was and is in the hearts of the ones he leaves behind.
He told me at his lowest point he told God “that if he would save him, he would never spit in his face again.” He took a different path that day, one with God in his life.
He did as best he could to honor that promise from that day on. He wasn’t perfect, but he was Mitch, he was DAD. He learned how to give himself more grace in the latter chapter of his life.
We will definitely miss not getting to experience the chapter titled “The One with Mitch retiring with his “little doggy.””
He wanted to know that the ones he loved were going to be ok. And he would do whatever he could to go fix it.
He had a lot of heart, man! In his own Mitch way.
If he were here on my shoulder now, he would say…..
“Get your shit together.”
“You just gotta take it one day at a time.”
He would also do this (waving his hand under his chin) to say hi or bye or just to make you smile.
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