George Amos Mitchell Sr.
George Mitchell was born to Fed and Exie on March 29, 1924. He was a late birthday gift to his mother as her birthday was the day before. She named him George after her father. The lot on which sat the building he was born in, is now home to a small grassy knoll.
His parents, having lost two sons, Charlie and Ulysses in the influenza epidemic of 1919/1920, eagerly anticipated the arrival of this child not knowing whether it was going to be another son, or a sister for their daughter Johnnie Bea.
George was loved and adored by his mother, father and sister.
When he was old enough he was taken after school and on weekends to the farm home of his grandfather, his mother's father George Williams in what was then the town of Acree... As soon as he was old enough young George was taught how to work the plow. That set the stage for a lifetime of hard work and determination to always do what was right.
He lived at times among the strictness and wisdom of his Aunts Rose, Sarah, Corene, and his Uncles Ira, James and Mayso.
By the time young George had come along, Uncle Sam was already married to Aunt Irene, Uncle Ira having fought in WWI was back and living with his wife Eva in a little house on the family land, Aunt Georgia was up in Macon with her husband Emmitt Denerson, and Aunt Kate was around the way and a pretty little yellow house with her husband Florence Teel...
He remembered his father passing by his elementary school yard on his way home from his barber shop, standing at the fence to wave to his son George. sports... Well he loved football and track until he was the recipient of his first well placed tackle! He said after that he was purely a track man!
To make money in high school, he went to work as a paperboy for Mr. Searles at The Southwest Georgian... As time went on, he added to that a job picking up and delivering dry cleaning for Mr. Eddie Carter Sr. whose son Eddie Carter Jr. still runs his Cafeteria in Albany! Weekends found him helping out at his Granddaddy’s farm.
As the years went on what could have been a stress filled turbulent life for young George was something much more
His daddy died in 1937, and his Granddaddy died a year later.... With the two most influential men in his life now gone George made the decision to do his best in high school, graduate with a track scholarship and attend Morehouse.
As graduation neared, the town officials had decided they wanted him trained to become Albany Georgia's first black policeman but Uncle Sam and had something else in mind.
He graduated from high school, and then went enlist and serve his country. There was a busload of young men who traveled to Fort Benning to be possibly inducted. Of that busload, only 2 were selected to go on to Montford Point. George A. Mitchell and Robert O. Christian both of Albany!
They were to become among the first black men to be admitted into the Marine Corps at Montford Point North Carolina.
After Montford point and while at while stationed at Perris Island South Carolina in the latter 40s he met and married a beautiful young girl Barnettia Stevens.
He decided that if he was going to be a military man he was going to be the mess the best military man he could possibly be. He was an expert marksman and over the years studied to become an officer. During that time there were those who made that impossible for him and when he was told point blank that all of his correspondence courses all of his studying all of his training was not going to lead to his becoming an officer he settled in and just decided to continue being the best marine he could be
Along the way while serving his country, George and his wife Barnettia had four children…George Jr, Yolanda, Frederick and Bruce.
After two tours of duty in the Vietnam war with general Cushman, George decided it was time to retire. By then he had become friends and brothers with two men in Oceanside he would know all the rest of their lives...Roosevelt Campbell and Oscar Culp.
The three of them started one of the first black owned businesses in Oceanside on San Diego St. They called it GEBS... Government Employees Buying Service... It was a furniture store. It was at their second location which was on Mission Avenue just about next to where the Jack-in-the-Box used to be, where George received a phone call. Local plumber Willie Donaldson recalled shopping in that store the day when the call came in from headquarters in Washington DC asking George to come back into the Corps, to serve with General Cushman during his three years as commandant.
After three years in Washington DC, 1975 found George, Bonnie and their family returning to Oceanside.
He resumed his active role as a partner in the furniture store. They subsequently opened a store in Escondido and a last one in the old Irving Gill built Blade Tribune building at the corner of First and Tremont in Oceanside where it still stands today. By then they were called CMC Furniture Store. CMC stood for Campbell, Mitchell, and Culp.
George and Oscar also in the late 1970s opened a restaurant near by the back gate and Camp Pendleton... It was called Our Cafe. Charles Johnson was the head chef and the food was wonderful!!
After a period of time, Mr. Campbell decided he wanted his own furniture store so he used the GEBS name and struck out on his own where he was in business on Hill Street until he passed away.in 2005
On July 7, 2011, a Bill H.R. 2447 was referred to the Committee on Financial Services. The Bill was passed by the 112th Congress, and The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the Montford Point Marines.
George did not travel to Washington DC to receive his medal, but was awarded his medal in a ceremony on Camp Pendleton on August 14, 2012 by Maj.General Ronald Bailey.
George was preceded in death by his father Fed Mitchell, his mother Exie Lee Williams Mitchell his two brothers Charles and Ulysses, a half-brother OB Mitchell, and his sister Johnnie Bea Mitchell Gradham
George is survived by his wife Barnettia Stevens Mitchell and their four children, George Jr., Yolanda Mitchell-Sheets (David & his daughter Lilli) Frederick Mitchell, Bruce Mitchell and two grandchildren Brianna and Bruce Mitchell (Tiffany) He and Barnettia have a great granddaughter on the way who I am sure he will be able to hold in Heaven before she is welcomed into this world. He is also survived by a loving devoted niece, his sister Johnnie Bea's daughter, Alva Gradham Hood Weeks of Columbus Georgia
To say he is survived by a host of other relatives is putting it mildly as he lived to be 5 days short of his 92nd birthday. and there are many many cousins and friends who will surely miss him.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.9.5