Marian Mitchell

Marian Louise Andrews Mitchell, 89, born in Petersburg, Virginia passed away peacefully in her Fredericksburg home on October 28, 2019. The oldest of four siblings, she grew up “Poor But Happy” on a farm on Woodpecker Road. Although she would disagree, she had many talents that she shared with her family and friends. She learned to play the piano as a child, often accompanied by the neighborhood kids gathering around to sing. While not a “professional” cook, her meals were always delicious and varied, she hated for a plate of her food to be “all the same color or texture”. She was a meticulous planner ensuring everything was organized and “supper” was always on time. Her skill at gardening lead not only to beautiful flowers but plenty of frozen or canned fruits and vegetables, especially varieties of pickles and jellies. Her sewing abilities ranged from crocheting afghans, cross stitch and embroidery, quilting (adorable baby blankets in particular), and making clothes. Many of Andy’s favorite clothes were one of a kind creations made by her mother.  In addition to being a marvelous homemaker, she worked outside of the home as well, in particular enjoying working at the Senior Citizen Center in North Carolina. However, the majority of her time was focused on her family. She was a dedicated wife, preceded in death by her husband, George R Mitchell. She was an amazing mother to Andrea Louise Mitchell (Brent) Cash, incredible grandmother to Jessica Luraie (Andrew) Sparks, and wonderful great-grandmother “Maynee” to Michael, Stephon, and Kalonii. She is also survived by a great support system of sisters, nieces, nephews, extended family, friends, and neighbors. Her hobbies included reading mystery novels, scrabble, jigsaw puzzles, a rousing card game full of laughter (preferably bridge), and collecting Asian décor resulting in a gorgeous variety of cloisonné pieces. She enjoyed researching her Andrews ancestry long before the internet made it easy, which meant many trips to the library squinting at microfiche and compiling the findings into her “Yellow Jackets” booklet. Four-legged companions were always around, Irish Setters Sam and Suzie, black labs Kojak and later Tess, and many cats, Sam, Smokey, Socks among the favorites, with Sissy and Malcolm being the most recent.  Her remains have been cremated by E. Alvin Small Funeral Home in Colonial Heights. She will be buried at Blandford Cemetery, beside her namesake, Marian Anna Church, in Petersburg on Friday, November 22, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. A celebration of life is planned for Noon that day at Chancellor’s Village, a small buffet will be available. In lieu of flowers, donations to Paws for Seniors would be appreciated. Condolences may be registered at www.ealvinsmall.com.