George ‘Ray' Mitchell, 77: Dedicated life to libraries, reading

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By David Ibata

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Inspired by his mother, a civil rights activist in Atlanta during the turbulent 1960s, George "Ray" Mitchell took a courageous stand in 1971 in the South Georgia library district where he was newly hired.

Family photo, Family photo George Raymond "Ray" Mitchell Jr., a native Atlantan, gave up a career in insurance to pursue the first love of his life -- books.

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“There was a sign that advertised story hours. He put another sign up saying, everyone is welcome at the library,” said Mr. Mitchell’s daughter, Sarah Yates of Savannah.

Mrs. Yates said she and her siblings were not told the details of what happened next, “but I know at the board level and in the community, he stood them down – my father was very strong. First of all he was 6-foot-4, a tremendous person to be in the presence of. He was not much for words. But they knew he meant it, and no one fought it in the end.”

George Raymond “Ray” Mitchell Jr., of Camilla died in his sleep Sunday while visiting Mrs. Yates and her family in Savannah. The cause of death was circulatory collapse due to complications of diabetes. He was 77.

An outdoor memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Lafayette Square in Savannah. Fox and Weeks Funeral Directors, Hodgson Chapel, Savannah, is handling arrangements.

Mr. Mitchell was born and reared in Atlanta, graduated from North Fulton High School and attended the University of Georgia, where he was president of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Shortly after graduating from UGA in 1956, he joined Crawford & Co., Savannah, as an insurance adjuster.

Mr. Mitchell married, and in 1962 he moved his family to Statesboro, where they lived for nine years.

Meanwhile, his mother, Sara Mitchell Parsons, was involved in the civil rights movement in Atlanta. She was elected to the board of the Atlanta Public Schools and worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders of the African-American community to integrate the system.

Mrs. Parsons later wrote the book, "From Southern Wrongs to Civil Rights: The Making of a White Civil Rights Activist.” She died in July in Atlanta at the age of 99.

Mr. Mitchell left the insurance field in the late 1960s to pursue his passion for reading, Mrs. Yates said.

“Books were his life, and he was happiest at the library," she said. "It was the place he felt most comfortable and felt most himself, and felt not only could he exchange ideas with others about what they were reading, but he could spark interest in reading in children.”

Mr. Mitchell obtained a master’s degree in library science from Emory University in 1970 and the following year took a job in the DeSoto Trail Regional Library in Camilla. He served there more than 30 years, retiring as regional director of the four-county library system in 2005.

Mr. Mitchell’s brother, Perry Mitchell of Atlanta, said his sibling “loved reading and books and helping people, and I think he found life in a small town to be fulfilling enough … everybody knew him, he knew everybody, and some people would rather live in a small town.”

Later in life, as diabetes began affecting his eyesight, Mr. Mitchell became an advocate for large-print library collections. When his sight began to fail, he called for increased funding for libraries to build their books-on-tape holdings.

Mr. Mitchell’s other pursuits included scuba diving, acting in community theater and motorcycling – including rides to the county seats of all 159 Georgia counties.

Additional survivors include his children David R. Mitchell of Chicago, GeorgeAnn Phillips of Grovetown, and Larisa McMichael of Newnan; his sister Susan Mitchell Rogers of Lafayette, stepfather Tom Parsons of Atlanta, stepchildren Joy Davis and Kevin Oliver of Albany; seven grandchildren, and two step-grandchildren.