Rick E. Mitchell
Rick E. Mitchell, 75, passed away early in the morning April 7 with his wife, Marlene, and daughter, Tami, by his side. Rick was born in Ritzville, Wash., in 1949 to W.E. (Mitch) and Lilias Mitchell. Rick then grew up with his younger sister and brother, Candise and Terry, in Moses Lake, Wash. Rick enjoyed little league baseball, fishing and spending time traveling to Arkansas and California with his family.
While attending Moses Lake High School, Rick met the love of his life, Marlene Millican. They both graduated in 1967 and were married in the Lutheran Church a year later ,in 1968. Both Rick and Marlene worked in the grocery business for several years. In 1972, they welcomed their daughter, Tami.
Rick would eventually go to work selling insurance for Life of the Northwest while Marlene worked at the school district. In 1981, Rick and his family were transferred to Twin Falls, Idaho. Rick would later go to work for Allstate Insurance Company, where he spent the next 25 years selling insurance. He was initially based out of the old Sears store but moved to the Magic Valley Mall and eventually had his own office on the corner of Shoshone and Addison, where he worked with his dear friend Linda Burgess for many years.
The Mitchells spent many weekends camping, fishing and exploring Southern Idaho. Rick was an average golfer but a great fisherman. He never missed his daughter's softball games or school activities. If Rick wasn't at work or camping, you could find him at Cactus Pete's with Marlene, enjoying some great musical entertainment or playing the poker machines.
By late 2000, Rick started to have complications from his long battle with diabetes. Rick needed a new kidney. Longtime friends Barb and Dave Stafford said they would help, and Barb was an exact match. Finally, in January of 2004, Rick received his new kidney from Barb. Rick's parents, sister, daughter and young granddaughter Mackenzie all spent the week in Utah along with Barb and Dave and their two daughters for the transplant procedure. At the time of Rick's passing, that kidney was still fully functioning.
In 2014, Rick and Marlene moved to Hayden, Idaho, to be closer to their daughter and granddaughter. Also brings them closer to where they grew up in Moses Lake. They were able to spend more time with Rick's parents and traveled to Moses Lake often to see them. Rick and Marlene enjoyed watching Mackenzie play volleyball and watching her grow up.
In the last few years, Rick's health problems seemed to grow and he had to have one of his legs amputated due to an infection. He handled this like a champion and was back home to Marlene and on the way to the casino within weeks of his surgery. He mastered the use of a prosthetic leg and walked with a cane that had been made by his beloved father years before. In the summer of 2024, on a beautiful day Rick and his family enjoyed watching his granddaughter Mackenzie get married in a beautiful ceremony overlooking Lake Coeur d'Alene.
Rick loved to tell a good story and shared them often. He would talk about playing baseball and listening to games on his transistor radio. He loved to reminisce about his travels across the country and especially to Alaska to see his sister. Rick and Marlene traveled a lot with his parents, going to Mitch's Army reunions in the South and making trips to Las Vegas. Rick enjoyed spending time with his brother Terry and trying to figure out why Terry wasn't a better fisherman. Rick's goal was to see his beloved Seattle Mariners win a World Series; unfortunately, I don't think any of us will see that.
Rick was preceded in death by his father, W.E. Mitchell, in 2016 at the age of 98.
He is survived by his mother, Lilias Mitchell (age 98), his wife, Marlene, daughter Tami and granddaughter Mackenzie (Troy) along with his sister, Candise (Rick Thornton), brother Terry (Kathy) and several nephews and nieces.
The family will hold a small gathering in the coming weeks to celebrate Rick.
Rick Mitchell absolutely adored his wife, Marlene, left, and daughter, Tami, center.