David L Mitchell

David Lloyd Mitchell stepped into eternity in the Lord’s presence on February 22, 2025, at the age of 87.

He was born in Boone, Iowa on June 17, 1937, the son of Lloyd B. Mitchell and Ethelyn A. (Lunn) Mitchell, and grew up in various towns in Iowa. As a boy, he enjoyed fishing, and loved sports. He was an Iowa Hawkeyes and Cleveland Indians fan (although after moving to Maine he became a faithful Red Sox fan) and played baseball and basketball in high school. David graduated from Dumont High School in Dumont, Iowa in 1956, and attended college in Kansas for a year following high school.

David’s father was the pastor of a country church in Ralston, Iowa. The Mitchell family was very close friends of the Bundt family, which attended that same church. Both were large families and would often meet for lunch at one of their homes following Sunday church services. It was through that family friendship that David would meet his future wife, Joan F. (Bundt) Mitchell, at a very young age. Even late in his life, David recalled playing in a sandbox at the age of six with a five-year-old girl who would become his future bride. They began dating in the 1960’s and were married in September of 1968. Their son, Warren, was born in the summer of 1969; and their daughter, Carmen, was born in 1971.

David proudly served for close to two decades in the U.S. armed forces, beginning with four years in the Air Force followed by just over fifteen years in the Navy, working in its personnel office. David and his family lived in numerous places in the U.S. and abroad, serving most recently at the Brunswick, Maine, Naval Air Station at the time of his retirement from the military in 1978. David and Joan met many close friends in Maine and grew to call Lisbon Falls their home.

The Lisbon Falls Baptist Church was their church home, and David and his wife served as youth group leaders there. He also was a deacon, served on the bus route, and performed visitation. In 1974, David felt called to enter the ministry. Still a relatively young man at the time of his retirement from the Navy four years later, David enrolled at Hyles-Anderson College in Crown Point, Indiana, relocating temporarily to Hammond, Indiana with his family. While a student, he served the First Baptist Church of Hammond on a bus route in Chicago as a worker and a driver, and served as a soul winner on the streets of Chicago on behalf of the college. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Ministries in 1984 and was ordained that same year.

David and his family then moved back to Maine, and he assumed the role of assistant to the pastor at the Lisbon Falls Baptist Church. Leading people to the Lord was very important to David, and he soon began his own prison ministry, visiting inmates throughout southern Maine. In 1998, David and Joan moved to Cleveland, Tennessee to assist with Rock of Ages Prison Ministry, before moving back to Maine for good in 2001.

David spent most of his adult life in two careers, serving others – first in the military, and then in the ministry. In his retirement, David worked part-time as a greeter at Wal-Mart in Brunswick – a role that continued to fit his gregarious personality perfectly. David and his wife actively supported the Lisbon Falls Baptist Church as members, and attended for many years until decline in health in his advanced years prevented it.

David is survived by his son, Warren Mitchell; his daughter, Carmen Rose and her husband, Stanley Rose; granddaughters Brianna Mitchell, Kasandra Mitchell and fiancé Paul Merrill, Alexis Mitchell, and Alison Rose; grandson Nathan Rose; great-grandsons Oakley and Coleman Merrill and Landon Sutherland; and great-granddaughter Zoey Sutherland. He also is survived by sisters Phyllis Pavlak and Marjorie DeBooy; brother Donald Mitchell and his wife Janice; and many nieces and nephews.

David was predeceased by his wife, to whom he was married at the time of her death following a sudden illness in 2024. While many couples have been married for 55 years as David and Joan were, very few could claim, as they could, a friendship originating in early childhood 80 years earlier. David was also predeceased by his parents; sisters Marion Neal and Ruth Utt; and brother Paul Mitchell.

A memorial service will be held at Lisbon Falls Baptist Church on Sunday, March 2, at 2:00 PM. Burial and a graveside service will take place at a later date at the Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Augusta, Maine. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations may be made to Lisbon Falls Christian Academy.