Melba McMillan Mitchell, 91, of Fitzgerald, Georgia, died Sunday, October 15, 2023, at her residence.
Funeral services will be held 3 PM, Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at First Baptist Church of Fitzgerald with the Rev. Greg Pope and the Rev. Blane Jacobs officiating. Entombment will follow in the Mitchell family mausoleum at Evergreen Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 1 PM until 2:30 PM, Tuesday, in the sanctuary of the church prior to the service.
Mrs. Mitchell was born September 27, 1932, in Irwin County, Georgia, to the late Warren & Ola Mae Harper McMillan. She was a 1949 graduate of Fitzgerald High School where she was a cheerleader for the 1948 State Champion Purple Hurricane Football Team. Her first job was the Delta Dime Store and later Bradshaw Music. She worked for Home Furniture as well. Mrs. Mitchell was a homemaker and a bookkeeper for her husband’s timber business. She was very active with the Fitzgerald Women’s Tennis Club, the Green Thumb Garden Club, and the Do Nothing Club. She was a longtime member of First Baptist Church and the Dorcas Sunday school class.
She is survived by her children and their spouses: Sharon & Larry Hall, Steven & Jerrilyn Mitchell, and Stanley Mitchell & Del Jones, all of Fitzgerald; grandchildren: Allison & Shane Sapp, Wesley & Danielle Mitchell, Nate Hall, and Julianne & Cody Padgett; and great-grandchildren: Millie Sapp, Rhett Sapp, Sarah Grace Mitchell, Walker Padgett, and Mary Lane Padgett; honorary great-grandchildren: Lexie Lee Clemons and Logan Clemons; and her dedicated caregiver, Diane Culver. Several nieces and nephews also survive. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Harry L. Mitchell; and two sisters: Gail Noe and Loutrelle Childree.
The family suggests those desiring to send memorials may send them to First Baptist Church, P O Box 367, Fitzgerald, GA 31750.