Sunday, December 28, 2008 6:32 AM EST
ORANGE — Veteran salesman and firefighter Kenneth Mitchell Sr. knew his way around, literally.
“If I said to him, ‘Let’s go somewhere,’ like to the Yankee Candle Factory in Massachusetts, he could tell you exactly how to get there, route-by-route,” said daughter Pamela Clemens of Orange. “He didn’t need a Garmin. He was amazing that way. He could tell you how to get any place, from his days as a salesman.”
Firefighting was Mitchell’s life, Clemens added. “When he could no longer go to fires, he would sit and monitor them from home,” she said.
Mitchell always loved being with his fellow firefighters, noted his wife of 59 years, Jean. “We attended all their dances and holiday parties and officer installations over the years,” she said.
Mitchell died Dec. 5 at age 81.
Born March 10, 1927, in Beacon Falls, a son of Keith and Lydia Mitchell, he attended Seymour High School. A Merchant Marine veteran, he worked for the town of Seymour and later was a sales representative for the former Durkee Foods of Newtown, Mass. In retirement, he drove school buses both in Orange and Milford.
Mitchell was a volunteer firefighter for 52 years, starting in Seymour and retiring as the Orange fire chief. He had lived in Orange the last 53 years.
Current Orange Fire Chief Chuck Gagel of Orange knew Mitchell for over 30 years. “He was the training officer when I first joined the department,” he said. “He molded the firefighters. He must have been successful because no one ever got hurt. He was on every Memorial Day committee and participated in the parade every year. And he would tell us about things he had learned when he was a fireman in Seymour.”
A parishioner of Orange Congregational Church, Mitchell also was on several town committees, and was a member of both the County Chiefs Association and Valley Fire Chiefs Association.
In his spare time, he liked to garden, read, dance, work with wood, sail, ski, go to the beach and walk. He was a Little League coach, Pinewood Derby official and a fan of the Yankees and UConn basketball.
Family vacations included trips to Cape Cod, Florida, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. Mitchell and his wife also visited California, Colorado and Washington state.
“He was like a kid with his four grandkids,” said his daughter. “He would play with them and help them build things. He liked taking them places and attended all their recitals and sports events.”
A granddaughter, Amy Clemens of Orange, recalled when her grandpa was fire chief, “I used to dial 911, thinking that was my direct number to talk to him. The police officers in town knew when it was me calling and would give me a number to reach my grandfather.”
Mitchell was very simple, and never the high-maintenance type, she added.
“He was not a materialistic man,” chimed in his daughter. “He was kind and warm-hearted and loved being with his friends. He loved to talk to people but he was a good listener, too.”
Mitchell also leaves a son, Kenneth Mitchell Jr. of Derby; and a twin brother.
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