Archives West Finding Aid

James R. “Dick” Mitchell (1929-2015) was born in Ogden, Utah to Ralph and Louise Fisher Mitchell. He attended Weber College for two years before serving an LDS mission in California around 1950; when he returned, he married Helen Daines, with whom he had four children before the two divorced. He studied business management at the University of Utah, graduating in 1953; in 1967, he returned to obtain an MBA. In the 1980s, he remarried to Betty Rizzo; the two divorced after having one son together.

Dick was a veteran, joining in the army in 1953, after graduating with his BA. “He entered the U.S. Air Force, serving his entire career as a fighter pilot in Europe and Asia, including Vietnam where he flew 149 combat sorties in an F-105 fighter bomber.” He was involved in the evacuation of Americans and Vietnamese from Saigon on April 27, 1975. Dick retired from active duty in the military in 1977 at the rank of Colonel. “During his military career Dick was awarded the Silver Star for valor in combat, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, ten Air Medals, two Bronze Stars, a Commendation Medal, a Meritorious Service Medal and a Purple Heart.”

“Dick was an avid skier and ski racer and remained so for most of his life. He was captain of the University of Utah ski team and won the NCAA downhill title in 1953. He also won a place on the U.S. Olympic Ski Team and went to Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy in 1956.” In 2017, Dick was inducted into the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame. In addition to his military service and passion for skiing, Dick was an avid aviator and yachter. In the 1990s, he built and few his own LANCAIR airplane. Source: “James R. (Dick) Mitchell,” Obituary, Standard-Examiner (Ogden, UT), May 8, 2015.