A private service will be held at the Winged Foot Golf Club
James Stanley Mitchell, longtime resident of Bronxville and decorated World War II veteran, died Thursday, November 30th at the age of 94. Stan was born in 1923 in Riverdale, New York. He graduated from The Riverdale Country School and attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in 1942. He attained the rank of Captain as a fighter pilot with the 386th Fighter Group in the European Theatre of Operations. Stan was awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters. After discharge from the Air Force, Stan joined the family construction and consulting business established in 1888 by his grandfather. As president of James S. Mitchell & Sons, he was awarded the Salvation Army Community Service Award for more than 50 years of dedication to the organization. Some of his additional accomplishments were: the staging’s of papal masses at Yankee Stadium in 1965 for Pope Paul VI, and in 1979 for Pope John Paul II; the cleaning and refurbishment of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the early 70s; and the five-year restoration of the historic Cathedral of Saint John the Divine after a devastating fire in 2001.Stan was on the Board of Trustees of Mercy College for 14 years and on the Board of Governors of Winged Foot Golf Club for nine years, serving as club president from 1985 to 1987. During his tenure, he stewarded Winged Foot’s 1984 hosting of the US Open, spearheaded capital improvements and repairs to the club’s buildings and grounds, and championed the first admission of full-privilege female members. In a life filled with quiet, steadfast accomplishments, Stan saved his greatest contributions for his family, who remain awed by his positive outlook, innate kindness, warm sense of humor, and appreciation of others – even as he faced declining health. Stan Mitchell is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Jane Percy, his son Jim and wife Mimi McGrath, his son Mark, his daughter June and husband Rob Ingraham, and four grandchildren: Jamie and Dillon Mitchell, and Blair and Tucker Ingraham. A private serve of remembrance will be held at Winged Foot Golf Club.
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