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.
The James "Dick" Mitchell photograph collection includes digital-only scans of images and newspaper clippings of Mitchell's skiing and Vietnam Air Force service and images of his LDS mission in California; it also contains color slides documenting Mitchell's hobbies of yachting, racing, and aviation.
Arranged by subject.
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Donated by John Mitchell in 2016.
Processed by Claire A. Kempa in 2021.
This collection forms part of the Utah Ski and Snowboard Archive, which is part of the S.J. Quinney Outdoor Recreation Archive.