Jerry Wayne Mitchell Sr.

Jerry W. Mitchell Sr., 87, of Texarkana, Texas, died Monday after a long battle with dementia. He loved the Lord with all his heart. He was a godly man who lived an exemplary life and is resting in the arms of the Lord right now.

Visitation is at 10 a.m. Thursday (June 5) at Walnut Church of Christ; a Celebration of Life service follows at 11.00 a.m.

Survivors include: his wife, Jane, of Texarkana; his son, Jerry Jr. (known locally as “Boo”), of Jackson, Mississippi; and two grandchildren, Katherine and Sam Mitchell of Dallas; and several cats.

Born in Bonham, Texas, Jerry grew up in Texarkana and graduated from Texas High School in 1955. At Harding University, he majored in Bible and dreamed of flying jets. He met the

love of his life, Jane, and when he learned that the Air Force didn’t accept pilots who were married, he had to choose between love and dreams.

He chose love and married Jane in 1958. A year later, he graduated from Harding, and they had a son, Boo.

When Jerry discovered that the Navy accepted married pilots, he decided to enlist. In 1960, he joined and took a flight training class with 25 cadets. He was one of only two that became jet pilots, flying off aircraft carriers in places like Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan and Hawaii.

He served five years in the armed forces before returning to Texarkana, where he and Jane opened their own business, Golden Star Tire. After selling the business, he became a commodities broker and a real estate investor.

The same passion that he brought to being a Top Gun pilot he brought to working for the Lord. One of his main focuses was to make sure everyone at Walnut learned about the Lord, no matter how young. Jane taught Bible classes for the 4-year-olds. Jerry became a deacon and later an elder, teaching adult Bible classes.

After the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, the couple traveled with others on mission trips to the communist country of Belarus, where they shared the good news of Jesus, and hundreds were baptized into Christ.

Jerry served as an elder for nearly half a century at Walnut before retiring in 2022. Jane continues to teach 4-year-olds on Wednesday nights.

Jerry died five days before he and Jane would have celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary.

In lieu of flowers, Jane is asking that people make donations to Walnut in care of the mission work that their son has been doing with West Africa Living Kingdom.

Condolences may be left at www.eastfuneralhome.com