Loretta M. Mitchell

Loretta M. Mitchell of Dothan passed away peacefully in her sleep Saturday evening at the North Florida Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Graceville, Fla. She was 95. Visitation will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. today, Oct. 29, at Byrd Funeral Home, Highway 84 West, Dothan. A memorial service will be conducted at 7:30 p.m. by the Rev. Robert E. Baxter of First Presbyterian Church, Dothan. Interment will take place at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Tampa under the direction of Brewer & Sons Funeral Home, Tampa. Mrs. Mitchell moved to Dothan from Tampa in 1998 following the death of her husband of nearly 50 years, Robert B. Mitchell Sr. She resided at Baptist Village and then Somerset Place before being admitted to the North Florida nursing center. She had moved to Dothan to be close to her immediate family - son Tom Ruddell and his wife Nancy; granddaughter Jennifer Crowe and her husband Rickey; and great granddaughter, Cassandra Crowe. Other survivors include a stepson, Robert B. Mitchell Jr. and wife Joan of Largo, Fla.; Nell Mitchell, widow of Michael K. Mitchell of Anchorage, AK; six grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. Born Aug. 16, 1912 in Hamden, Ohio, she was the daughter of Emmanuel Thomas and Olive Ethel (Bennett) Mills. She grew up in Philadelphia, then moved to Allentown, Pa., where she lived most of her life. She retired in 1982 after nearly 40 years of service to Muhlenberg College in Allentown, including as director of general services and purchasing. Robert and Loretta Mitchell moved from Allentown to Tampa in 1985 to be near family, including a grandson, Geoffrey Ruddell, now living with his family in Bend, Ore. While in Tampa, they were active members of Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to Westwood Presbyterian Church, 5480 W. Main St., Dothan 36305; First Presbyterian Church, 3012 W. Main St., Dothan 36305; or the Alzheimers Resource Center, 1314 Westgate Parkway, Suite 2, Dothan, AL, 36303. Byrd Funeral Home, (334) 793-3003, is in charge of arrangements.