At a time when E.R. Mitchell could have kept his success as a contractor and real estate developer to himself, he found a way to help minority entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. In 1994, 30 years after he started his own business, he chose to invest in the careers of others by helping fund and establish Capitol City Bank & Trust Co.
“He remembered when he was starting out, how difficult it was to obtain loans for him and his subcontractors,” said George G. Andrews, president and chief executive of the bank. “He said it was very important that we succeed because we represent a safety net for companies that can’t get financing from big banks.”
Mr. Mitchell was a pioneer in business who “made it possible for others to achieve higher levels than he was able to accomplish himself,” Mr. Andrews said.
E. R. Mitchell Sr., of Atlanta, died Thursday at the Atlanta VA Medical Center of natural causes. He was 97. A funeral service is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Cascade United Methodist Church. Burial at Westview Cemetery will immediately follow. Murray Brothers Funeral Home, Cascade Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Thomasville, Mr. Mitchell married the former Ruth Ellen Burt in 1941. He joined the U.S. Army in 1942, where he served in World War II. After working briefly for the Ivan Allen Co., he enrolled in an Atlanta training center, where he learned to be a brick mason. In the 50s Mr. Mitchell took a job with the Flagler Construction Company, where he eventually became one of the first African-American superintendents in the southeast at a firm of that size.
“There was a story he used to tell about getting to the job 30 to 45 minutes early,” said his son, E.R. Mitchell Jr., of Atlanta. “And he believed you should start work early and work hard until you are done.”
It was with that spirit that Mr. Mitchell started his own firm, E.R. Mitchell Construction Co., in 1960. His son vividly remembers a time he got to work later than his father felt he should have.
“We usually got to the office at 5:30 a.m., but for some reason that day I forgot my key and I rang the bell,” the son said with a laugh. “He swung the door open and he said it was 5:40 a.m. and that I was 10 minutes late and he stormed off. Remember, it is 5:40 a.m.”
At some point, all of Mr. Mitchell’s children worked for the firm, said his daughter, Cynthia Mitchell. For her, one of his most memorable lessons involved how to work with her brothers.
“He helped me talk through those times,” she said. “And we were able to get past those times and really work together.”
Ms. Mitchell and E.R. Mitchell Jr. continue to work for the company. Ms. Mitchell handles program management services and her brother has been the firm’s president and chief executive since 1980.
E.R. Mitchell Sr., who never officially retired, still kept up with his company and other business interests.
“He always joked that he was going to take early retirement at 100,” his son said. “And he worked almost up until the day he died. We often talked strategy and things of that nature.”
Mr. Mitchell had a “never-give-up nature,” his daughter said.
“He was always looking for another business venture,” she said. “He said he was going to retire but he never did. Ever.”
Mr. Mitchell is also survived by his wife of 70 years, Ruth B. Mitchell, of Atlanta; another son, Dr. Winston Mitchell, of Peoria, Ill., and six grandchildren.
