Mitchell, Henry Allan

Henry Allan Mitchell, 101, of Auburn, Maine, formerly of Iowa City, died peacefully Nov. 22, 2013. Memorial Services will be 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, at River Community Church, with the Rev. Gail Mitchell officiating. A reception will follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Gideons International, Box 1883, Iowa City, IA 52244 or to the Crisis Center in Iowa City.

Allan was born Oct. 4, 1912, in Harlowton, Mont., the son of John Allan Mitchell and Rosa Virginia Reebe Mitchell. After moving to California in 1917, the family lived in Oxnard. Allan graduated from the University of southern California in 1935 and married Wilma Ethel Bose in 1937. He worked as a chemical engineer for Shell Oil Co. for 30 years, first in California and then in New York. After retiring from Shell, and consulting for several years on the petrochemical market, he fulfilled a retirement dream and opened a gem and mineral store in Gatlinburg, Tenn., in 1972. He and Wilma relocated to Iowa City in 1984.

During their retirement, they were active in Gideons and enjoyed outdoor activities of camping and fishing and traveling to visit family. After Wilma's death in 2009, Allan moved to Williamsburg, Va., and then to Auburn, Maine.

He is survived by his sister, Virginia Ellis of Ventura, Calif.; son, John (Elosia) Mitchell of Winthrop, Maine; son, Stephen (Barbara) Mitchell of Williamsburg, Va.; daughter, Elizabeth (Michael) Altmaier of Iowa City; grandchildren, Aimee (Mark) Bigelow, Cathy (Thomas) Reynolds, Leisa (Morgan) Pettengell, Greg (Haley) Altmaier and Kathryn Altmaier; 10 great-grandchildren; and many nephews and nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Wilma; brother, Harold; sister-in-law, Jeannette Mitchell; and brother-in-law, Walter Ellis.

Online condolences may be directed top www.lensingfuneral.com.

Published Dec. 1, 2013 in The Gazette