Gwendolyn (Dellett) Mitchell

Gwendolyn D. Mitchell passed away March 23, 2018, two months shy of her 101st birthday. She lived a good life to the end. Gwendolyn was born on a farm in western Kansas in May, 1917, where she began her life-long love of birds, animals, and working the soil.  She attended college during the Great Depression and graduated in 1939 from Fort Hays Kansas State College where she met Oscar Mitchell, her future husband. They were married in 1942, and Gwendolyn taught school in Kansas while Oscar was an officer in the United States Army serving in North Africa and Italy during WWII. After the war, Gwendolyn and Oscar had two daughters, Judith and Jan. The family lived in Kansas and Nebraska, before moving to Albuquerque in 1961.

Following Oscar’s untimely death in 1965, Gwendolyn obtained a Masters Degree in library science and was the librarian at Lincoln Jr. High and Jackson Middle School, retiring from APS in 1986. Gwendolyn was a passionate advocate of higher education and, to that end, put her daughters through college and encouraged them to pursue whatever goals they set. She financially and emotionally supported her daughters through post-graduate school, resulting in Judith pursuing a PhD, and Jan receiving a law degree.

Gwendolyn was a strong, acutely intelligent woman who maintained a confident, positive attitude throughout her life. She lived independently in her home, was an avid reader, and maintained a keen interest in the world until her death. She was a wonderful woman who will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. We can only hope to be blessed to have such a wonderful life, still enjoying the pleasures of living at almost 101 years of age.