Jean Guyer Crouser Mitchell

Jean C. Mitchell, 95, of Vickie Drive in Cary, NC, passed away Thursday, January 18, 2024 in her home where she was being cared for by family. Jean was born January 16, 1929 in Waynesville, NC. She was the daughter of the late Jess Charles Crouser and Ava Taylor Guyer.

Jean graduated from Waynesville Township High School in Waynesville, NC in 1947. She attended the Women's College of the University of North Carolina School in Greensboro, NC and then the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC, where she graduated with a B.A. in Education in 1950. Jean was also a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

After graduating Jean taught at Washington High School in Washington, NC and met her future husband, Thomas Wayne Mitchell of Roseboro, NC, who also graduated from UNC. They married on August 9, 1952 in Waynesville and moved to Kinston, NC, where she was a schoolteacher at Grainger High School and he was a pharmacist at College Street Pharmacy. Later they moved to La Grange, NC and opened La Grange Pharmacy, before moving and settling in Cary, NC where they owned and operated Mitchell's Pharmacy for 38 years from 1956-1994. They were members of the First United Methodist Church of Cary since moving to Cary in 1956.

Cary only had a population of 2500 people when they first arrived and had few organized clubs or activities. Jean was very active in the church and community and was instrumental in forming and supporting functions that included being the Church Circle Chairman, President of Russell Hills Flower and Garden Club, sponsoring a Cary Christmas Open House Tour and Juried Flower Show, President and Constitution writer of Cary Jr. Women's Club who started the Cary Public Library, P.T.A. member in the local schools, and Couple and Girls Bridge Clubs.

Jean's favorite pastimes were antiquing and gardening. In the early 1980's, she started collecting and selling antiques in the pharmacy, where the store became as well known for its vast collection of antiques and collectibles as it did for being the local pharmacy. Jean volunteered for many years at the NCSU JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC, where she honed her gardening skills and created a beautiful garden at her home in Cary that was visited and admired by many.

Jean is survived by son Thomas Wayne Mitchell, Jr, his partner, Jerry and grandsons Cy and Michael; son Sidney Beddingfield Mitchell, his wife, Renee and granddaughters, Victoria and Caroline. She is also survived by nieces Ava Suzanne Terrell and Elizabeth Metcalfe; nephew Charles Metcalfe; and many cousins. She was preceded in death by her husband of 69 years, Thomas Wayne Mitchell; her twin sons, James Taylor Mitchell and Jess Crouser Mitchell; son Samuel Joseph Guyer Mitchell; brother Jess Charles Crouser, Jr., and sister Mary Metcalfe Kaylor.

A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, January 23 at 12:00pm at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home on 200 SE Maynard Rd, Cary, NC 27511. Visitation with the family will immediately follow at Brown-Wynne.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish to make a contribution in Jean's honor may do so to the First United Methodist Church of Cary, 117 South Academy St, Cary, NC 27511 or to the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University Campus Box 7522 Raleigh, NC 27695-7522 or online: jcra.ncsu.edu.

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