Mitchell

James Rex Mitchell, 81, of Rockmere, Oil City, died at 11 a.m. Saturday at Sugar Creek Station in Franklin.

Born Sept. 28, 1929, in Pittsburgh, he was the son of Guy Smith Mitchell and Grace Hecker Mitchell.

Rex graduated from Butler High School in 1947.

Dr. Mitchell was a professor of music education emeritus of Clarion University of Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor's degree from Muskingum College, his master's of eduction from Kent State University and doctorate in music education from the Pennsylvania State University in 1974.

For 14 years, he taught instrumental music in Ohio public schools in Parma, Stow and Canton; and in 1966, he accepted a position as woodwind specialist and teacher of music education, composition, conducting, orchestration and courses in jazz studies. He founded the Clarion University Lab Jazz Band and the Venango Chorus, which he directed until his retirement from Clarion in 1989.

Throughout his professional years, Dr. Rex Mitchell arranged and composed music for bands, orchestras, jazz ensembles and SATB chorus. Most of his original works were commissioned by schools, colleges and universities and community ensembles. Nearly 60 published titles and scores of his unpublished works were performed by some of the finest high school and university honors bands in more than five countries, including Japan, where his works continue to receive international acclaim. In addition, Dr. Mitchell traveled extensively as a guest soloist and as a guest conductor.

Earning the highest distinction in our state, Rex Mitchell was chosen to conduct the annual Pennsylvania Music Educators Association All-State Band at the Kirby Center in Philadelphia in 2002.

Locally, Rex entertained hundreds of audiences and thousands of listeners for more than 40 years in the Oil City region. His large and small ensembles provided music for public and private parties, dances, dinners, weddings and graduation celebrations. Perhaps most notably, Dr. Mitchell directed the outdoor Summer Jazz Concerts in Justus Park each year as a featured event celebrating Oil Heritage Days beginning in the early 1980s. Residents “packed the park” one evening each July for 16 consecutive years to enjoy his musical productions, often featuring local artists in the band shell in Justus Park.

Rex Mitchell was a lifelong member of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association and Phi Beta Mu, a distinguished honorary bandmaster's fraternity and received the coveted Distinguished Faculty Award by the Clarion University of Pennsylvania Alumni Association.

In his hometown, Dr. Mitchell was a member of the Oil City Boat Club and the Oil City Club. Recognizing his many contributions to the people in the area, Dr. Mitchell was named Oil City's Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce in 1990.

On Jan. 7, 1950, Rex Mitchell married Doris Elizabeth (King) Mitchell, who preceded him in death March 2, 2007. They were joyfully married for 57 years.

Surviving are a son, J. Thomas Mitchell and his wife, Mary Jo, of Lock Haven; four daughters, Kathy J. Stewart and her husband, Stephen, of Columbiana, Ohio, Karen K. Wilson and her husband, Richard, of Export, Kerry L. Stroup and her husband, Ronald, of Oil City and Kelly A. Mitchell and friend, Dale Flockerzi, of Oil City; nine grandchildren, Joel Stewart and his wife, Sara, of Pittsburgh, Jana Stewart Stitle and her husband, Eric, of Columbiana, Nahtanha Borland and Nathan Borland of Oil City, Brad Mitchell of York, Lindsey Mitchell Hagerman and her husband, Dan, of Mechanicsburg, Courtney Mitchell of Harrisburg, and Sadie McLaughlin and Ian McLaughlin of Oil City; and three great-grandchildren, Marcus and Alana Stewart and Savannah Hagerman.

Also surviving are a sister, Ina Jarrell and her husband, Vern, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Rex was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Esther Krauchuk of Butler.

<B>MITCHELL</B> — Friends of James Rex Mitchell, who died Saturday, March 5, 2011, may call at the <B>Morrison Funeral Home</B>, 110 Petroleum St, Oil City, Friday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral services will be in the funeral home at 2 p.m. Saturday. Interment will be in Sunset Hill Memorial Gardens.In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to be made to the Oil City Boat Club, Box 218, Oil City, PA 16301; the Venango Chorus, c/o Beth Orris, 1113 East State Road, Seneca, PA 16346; or the Venango County Visiting Nurses Foundation, 491 Allegheny Blvd., Franklin, PA 16323.