James G. Mitchell

James Gerald Mitchell passed away Dec. 14, 2014, in Santa Rosa, Calif. He was born Dec. 31, 1937, to James and Margaret Hambrick Mitchell.

Jim spent his young life in Santa Monica, Calif., where at age 13 he became one of the youngest Eagle Scouts. Sports were a big part of Jim’s life; he was a baseball and volleyball player and eventually earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in physical education and history from UCLA. His doctorate in higher education administration was awarded by Oregon State University.

His career in education spanned 45 years. Beginning as a junior high school teacher, he eventually moved to college administration. He was one of the founding administrators of Butte College in Chico, Calif., where he was human resources director. He later served as vice chancellor of human resources at San Francisco Community College District and Santa Rosa Junior College.

In his retirement years, he and his wife Nancy split their time living between Whidbey Island, Wash., and Healdsburg, Calif. They traveled throughout Europe, Asia, South America and the U.S. and did consulting in Micronesia and American Samoa. As active members of Friendship Force, they enjoyed sharing their home with people from around the world. Jim was a member of Rotary International for most of his adult life. During this time, he was president of the Durham, Calif., club and, more recently, a member of South Whidbey Rotary.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Renkiewicz; his sister, Suzanne Redell (Dave); his sons, John James (Mia), and Kenneth (Patricia); stepson, Jeff Ryan (Sandi MacIntosh); and stepdaughter, Kathryn Jaramillo (Armando).

Jim spent many wonderful hours with his seven grandchildren, Lily Justine, Alex Mitchell, Luciana Mitchell, Jordan MacIntosh-Hougham, Kelly MacIntosh-Ryan, Ryan Jaramillo and John Jaramillo.

In accordance with Jim’s wishes, a family funeral service will be held at St. Hubert Catholic Church in Langley, Wash. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Jim’s memory to Fred Hutchison Prostate Cancer Foundation, 1100 Fairview Avenue N., Seattle, WA, 98109. (www.fredhutch.org/en/diseases/prostate-cancer.html)or UCFS Prostate Cancer Foundation, Box 45339, San Francisco, CA, 94145 (http://makeagift.ucsf.edu)