Margaret Mattern Mitchell
May 27, 1930 ~ January 7, 2023
Born in:
Rochester, NY
Resided in:
Asheville, NC
Margaret Mattern Mitchell, 92, of Givens Estates in Asheville, passed away Saturday, January 7, 2023.
She was born in Rochester, NY on May 27, 1930 to the late Frank L. and Margaret Rogers Mattern. She was also preceded in death by her husband of 45 years, James “Jim” V. Mitchell; her sister, Rosanne Mattern Martin and her stepson, Keith V. Mitchell.
Margaret was a graduate of Nazareth College (Rochester, NY) and received master’s degrees from the University of Rochester and the University of Michigan. She was head of the Education Library and the Reference Department at Rush Rhees Library of the University of Rochester and head of the Reference Area at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After retiring to Asheville in 1992, she volunteered for many years in the Ramsey Library Special Collections at UNC-Asheville.
Margaret is survived by her stepson, Steven Mitchell and his wife, Nancy; niece Theresa Martin Watson and step-granddaughter, Kelly J. Mitchell.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated starting at 11:30 AM on Thursday, January 19, 2023 at St. Barnabas Catholic Church. The Mass will be streamed live via the church website (www.saintbarnabasarden.org). Inurnment will be held at White Haven Memorial Park in Pittsford, NY.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Margaret’s name to the Givens Resident Assistance Ministry, 2360 Sweeten Creek Road, Asheville NC 28803 or to the Nazareth College Scholarship Fund, 4245 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618.
Groce Funeral Home’s Lake Julian team is assisting the family.
Services
Memorial Mass: January 19, 2023 11:30 am
St Barnabas Catholic Church
109 Crescent Hill Drive
Arden, NC 28704
(828) 684-6098
http://www.stbarnabasarden.org
Funeral Home Assisting The Family:
Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian
72 Long Shoals Road
Arden, NC 28704
(828)687-3530
http://www.grocefuneralhome.com
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Margaret and Jim were nice neighbors in Forest Lake / they were a wonderful nice and very quiet couple and great neighbors/ when I found out Jim had a PhD I started calling him Dr Jim which he did not like and told me his name was just Jim not doctor Jim and to please not address him that title / I stopped immediately/ she was a soft spoken real lady who was always proper and didn’t appreciate a lot of useless talk and information ( maybe the librarian in her? )
I had a nice chat with her in the grocery store around thanksgiving and planned to visits her after Xmas / unfortunately waited too long / we will miss her and always appreciated her nice Xmas card with family news / she was a fine classy lady for sure / we plan to attend the service tomorrow/ peace Doug and Carolyn Jones
I’d like to thank those who befriended Margaret at Givens both when living with my dad & at her apartment. You made a big difference in her life and we’re so grateful. I wanted to relate something about Margaret that I believe shows her spirit & attitude about life.
My mother passed at a young age in the early seventies. I was a college freshman & my brother in High school. My father was devastated as were my brother & me, but he had to continue to work while supporting us in our grief.
Sometime later, as my Dad was still having an extremely hard time dealing with the loss, and being a professor at the U of R, it seemed logical to him to go U of R Library to check out some books on handling grieving. While there he ran into the head reference librarian who had helped him often in searching for material needed for classes & his research, so they knew each other on a professional level for some time, and knew what he was going through.
During the course of the conversation, the reference librarian commented that he really didn’t have to wait a full year before possibly seeking out female companionship. Seeing maybe that a door was being opened, my Dad asked Margaret out & their relationship blossomed. Sometime later, after asking my brother & I if it was ok with us, they were married. Without Margaret making that first subtle gesture, their long time together may not have happened. That was the type of person Margaret was. Steve Mitchell
The service was nice and simple just what she would have wanted / Carolyn and I attended and were glad to be there / she was a fine classy lady as I’ve mentioned!
Peace to you Steve ! Great father too!
Doug Jones 8282160997 just FYI