Dr. George Ernest Mitchell, Jr.

Dr. George Ernest Mitchell, Jr. died peacefully on Feb. 18 in Lexington, Kentucky. He was 95.

George was born on June 7, 1930, on a homesteaded ranch near Duoro, New Mexico. When he was 16, the family moved to a farm in Green Forest, Arkansas, where they continued raising cattle. That upbringing planted the seeds for his 42year career researching and teaching animal science and nutrition.

In Green Forest, he met the love of his life, Billie Carolyn Mitchell. They had a six-year on-and-off courtship with the on periods sustained by scores of sweet letters while George studied at the University of Missouri and Carolyn studied in Russellville, Arkansas, and Chillicothe, Missouri, then worked in St. Louis.

But when the U.S. Air Force called George to serve, he didn’t want to leave without her. So he traveled to St. Louis and popped the question at a romantic spot overlooking the Mississippi River. They were married on March 14, 1952.

So began a marriage that lasted 70 years before Carolyn’s death in 2022. This success he attributed, in part, to his philosophy that you should “marry the prettiest, smartest girl you can find and make her a partner!”

After a stint in the Air Force in Maine, George’s academic career took the couple first to Columbia, Missouri, where he got his master’s degree at the University of Missouri and the couple had their first daughter, Leslie. They then moved to the University of Illinois, where he earned his doctorate and spent four years on the faculty. The couple also had their second daughter, Karen.

Then came an auspicious visit. Dr. Wes Garrigus swung by with then University of Kentucky Basketball Coach Adolph Rupp on their way to a cattlemen’s meeting. Their mission: Recruit George to develop a doctoral degree program in the Animal Sciences Department. So George and Carolyn moved to Lexington in 1960. They had their third daughter, Cyndi, a year later.

During his 38 years at UK, George authored hundreds of publications and won numerous awards. He consulted with and/or made presentations in 18 countries and 45 states. He was a Fulbright scholar in Hamilton, New Zealand, in 1973-74, taking the family on what ultimately became a roundthe- world trip. In 1989, he was the first American to be awarded the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Research Award.

But he talked most frequently about building the doctoral animal science program at UK and of the students he was proud to have advised; he often said he didn’t think there was an animal science program in the country that hadn’t hired one of his students. He directed or co-directed 96 master’s, doctorate and post-doctorate students, and was on the advisory and/or examining committee for 397 more.

While George often spent Sundays marking up dissertations, he always made time for his three daughters, Leslie, Karen and Cyndi – giving horsey rides on his back, playing ping pong or shooting hoops in the backyard. Every summer, he and Carolyn loaded up their camper for a several-week journey to and from each summer’s American Society of Animal Science annual meeting.

Later in life, George and Carolyn’s philosophy of giving their daughters “roots and wings” took hold. They were a steady and loving presence in good times and bad, no matter the distance. They also did the same for their four grandchildren, Blake Wilson, Meagan Metzger, Georgia Mallett and Max Mitchell DeGrazia. They also have two great-grandchildren, Meyer and Myla Metzger.

George was active in the Bluegrass Kiwanis Club well into his 80s. For many years, he steered the club’s primary fundraiser, Pancake Day. When the club was no longer able to distribute programs at UK football games as another fundraiser, George reasoned he could boost Pancake Day revenues enough to make up the difference – and he did. He negotiated deals with the food suppliers, pursued sponsorships and secured advertising for the paper placemats. He also hatched a plan to sell bulk tickets to local companies and organizations.

George and Carolyn joined the newly formed Southern Hills United Methodist Church soon after they arrived in Lexington and stayed active there until they transitioned to a care facility in 2018. George taught Sunday School, regularly ushered, and was active in Methodist Men.

As Carolyn’s health declined, George took extra care of her until her death in 2022. Many nurses and aides at The Willows commented that they hoped to one day have the same loving relationship that George and Carolyn had cultivated.

George was known far and wide for his steadiness, his wisdom, his integrity, his kindness and his care. His is a life not only to celebrate but to emulate.

George was preceded in death by his parents, George and Alma, and his two brothers, Don B. and Calvin. He is survived by his sister Dorothy Komarmy, his daughters Leslie Wilson, Karen Mitchell DeGrazia and Cynthia Mitchell, and his four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A celebration of George’s life will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 21, at Southern Hills United Methodist Church in Lexington.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to the Dr. George E. Mitchell, Jr. Graduate Fellowship Fund. You can do so online at http://bit. ly/4sjf5gP. (To guard against scams, please take extra care to make sure this obit is published on an official site – milwardfuneral.com or carrollconews.com – and that this link takes you to the Give UK site set up for George.) Or you can do so by mail to UK Philanthropy, PO Box 910628, Lexington KY 40591-0628. (Please make checks out to the University of Kentucky and put the scholarship name in the memo line.)