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February 3, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 4-7 PM on Friday, February 9, 2018 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held 9 AM on Saturday, February 10, 2018 from the funeral home then to Immaculate Heart of Mary RC Church, 580 Ratzer Road, Wayne where a 10 AM Funeral Mass will be offered.
Charles George Mitchell Jr., age 89, of the Packanack Lake section of Wayne, passed peacefully on Saturday, February 3, 2018.
He was born to Charles and Lillian Mitchell on March 16, 1928 and raised in Jersey City where he graduated from St. Michael's High School with the Class of 1946. In 1952 he enlisted in the US Navy during the Korean War and served most of his time in Virginia Beach, VA. For much of his service he was a Signalman positioned in a land based tower and signaling ships with Morse code flashes of light from a search lamp fitted with a shutter. He was honorably discharged in 1954 and received the National Defense Service Medal for his service.
Charles joined the Port Authority Police Department in 1956. During his years with the department he began taking night school courses at Seton Hall University where he received a degree in Criminal Justice. Over the course of his career at the Port Authority Charles served in different PA facilities in different positions. He advanced through the ranks from officer to sergeant and ultimately to lieutenant. He was at JFK airport in 1964 when the Beatles first came to the USA and came home to say he saw some long haired singers come off a plane. Years later he was the Port Authority Police representative for dignitaries arriving at JFK and greeted presidents after they landed on Air Force One. Before his retirement from the Port Authority in 1990 Charles spent many years on the operations side of the George Washington Bridge. In so many ways this was the job he loved most. However, even then, he always looked for excuses to get out from behind the desk and join the guys in the field. He couldn't wait to jump in a squad car and be driven around to see what was happening. One such trip coincided with a man who decided he wanted to end his life by throwing himself off the bridge. Charles jumped out of the car and grabbed the man's wrist as both of them hung off the bridge over the Hudson River, one of Charles' hands holding the man, the other grasping the rail of the bridge. Fortunately, reinforcements arrived quickly and both were pulled to safety. Most days were not as dramatic, but even that day when Charles came home he treated it as just another day at work.
Charles and his wife Patricia moved into the Packanack Lake section of Wayne in 1950’s when many area roads were still dirt. They were founding parishioners of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Wayne and were fixtures at Sunday Noon Mass for many years.
Charles was a devoted husband of fifty-one years to his late wife Patricia (McDermott) Mitchell, the love and focus of his life, who passed away in January of 2003.
He was the loving father of John Mitchell and his wife Linda of Rye, New York, Jim Mitchell and his wife Debbie of Cedar Grove, Thomas Mitchell and his wife Kelly of Vernon, and Mary Ann Atherton and her husband Jason of Virginia; he was the cherished grandfather of Christopher, Brian, Samantha, Matthew (d.2015), Billy, and Hannah Mitchell, and Eliza and Fiona Atherton. He also really liked the New York Giants.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 580 Ratzer Road, Wayne, NJ 07470 would be appreciated.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family from 4-7 PM on Friday, February 9, 2018 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held 9 AM on Saturday, February 10, 2018 from the funeral home then to Immaculate Heart of Mary RC Church, 580 Ratzer Road, Wayne where a 10 AM Funeral Mass will be offered.
February 3, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 4-7 PM on Friday, February 9, 2018 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held 9 AM on Saturday, February 10, 2018 from the funeral home then to Immaculate Heart of Mary RC Church, 580 Ratzer Road, Wayne where a 10 AM Funeral Mass will be offered.
Charles George Mitchell Jr., age 89, of the Packanack Lake section of Wayne, passed peacefully on Saturday, February 3, 2018.
He was born to Charles and Lillian Mitchell on March 16, 1928 and raised in Jersey City where he graduated from St. Michael's High School with the Class of 1946. In 1952 he enlisted in the US Navy during the Korean War and served most of his time in Virginia Beach, VA. For much of his service he was a Signalman positioned in a land based tower and signaling ships with Morse code flashes of light from a search lamp fitted with a shutter. He was honorably discharged in 1954 and received the National Defense Service Medal for his service.
Charles joined the Port Authority Police Department in 1956. During his years with the department he began taking night school courses at Seton Hall University where he received a degree in Criminal Justice. Over the course of his career at the Port Authority Charles served in different PA facilities in different positions. He advanced through the ranks from officer to sergeant and ultimately to lieutenant. He was at JFK airport in 1964 when the Beatles first came to the USA and came home to say he saw some long haired singers come off a plane. Years later he was the Port Authority Police representative for dignitaries arriving at JFK and greeted presidents after they landed on Air Force One. Before his retirement from the Port Authority in 1990 Charles spent many years on the operations side of the George Washington Bridge. In so many ways this was the job he loved most. However, even then, he always looked for excuses to get out from behind the desk and join the guys in the field. He couldn't wait to jump in a squad car and be driven around to see what was happening. One such trip coincided with a man who decided he wanted to end his life by throwing himself off the bridge. Charles jumped out of the car and grabbed the man's wrist as both of them hung off the bridge over the Hudson River, one of Charles' hands holding the man, the other grasping the rail of the bridge. Fortunately, reinforcements arrived quickly and both were pulled to safety. Most days were not as dramatic, but even that day when Charles came home he treated it as just another day at work.
Charles and his wife Patricia moved into the Packanack Lake section of Wayne in 1950’s when many area roads were still dirt. They were founding parishioners of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Wayne and were fixtures at Sunday Noon Mass for many years.
Charles was a devoted husband of fifty-one years to his late wife Patricia (McDermott) Mitchell, the love and focus of his life, who passed away in January of 2003.
He was the loving father of John Mitchell and his wife Linda of Rye, New York, Jim Mitchell and his wife Debbie of Cedar Grove, Thomas Mitchell and his wife Kelly of Vernon, and Mary Ann Atherton and her husband Jason of Virginia; he was the cherished grandfather of Christopher, Brian, Samantha, Matthew (d.2015), Billy, and Hannah Mitchell, and Eliza and Fiona Atherton. He also really liked the New York Giants.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 580 Ratzer Road, Wayne, NJ 07470 would be appreciated.
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