Huntsville, Texas - Ronald Joe Mitchell, the president of Huntsville's American Bank for 35 years, has passed away. He was 83. Services will be held at First Baptist Church in Huntsville on Thursday, July 31 at noon. (Visitation precedes services at 11 a.m.)

Upon his retirement in 2010, American Bank commemorated his term with a three-day open house. This newspaper interviewed Mr. Mitchell, who cited regular interactions with longtime customers and employees as the thing he'll miss most. "With the amount of people coming in every day," he said, "a lot of relationships have been built."

He was in the habit of fixing a big breakfast for his employees each Friday morning at the bank, a tradition that may explain why many stayed on at their jobs for 20 years or more.

Ron Mitchell was born in San Augustine on September 5, 1941, the second child of Troy Mitchell, the San Augustine City Manager and later manager of the Jasper-Newton Electric Co op, and Allene (Stewart) Mitchell, a homemaker and switchboard operator. His older brother Glen was born in 1934. The younger Mitchells were the fourth generation born in San Augustine County. The family moved to Kirbyville in 1950.

Mr. Mitchell graduated from Kirbyville High School in 1959 and Sam Houston State University in 1963, working summers at his local Kirbyville bank.

He enlisted in the United States Army in 1963, serving four years during the escalation of the Vietnam War.

Mr. Mitchell loved Huntsville and served the community in many capacities, as a member of the board and one-time president of the Huntsville Walker County Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Rotary Club, and head of the First Baptist Church finance committee.

He served on the board of American Bank and East Texas National Bank of Palestine for 35 years.

He met Derril Jean Wiggins, then a student at Lamar University, in Beaumont. They were married in Kirbyville in 1964 prior to Mr. Mitchell's deployment to Osan Air Base in South Korea. The newlyweds lived in separate on- and off-base housing, returning to the US and Perrin Air Force Base, where their first child, Stacy, was born in 1966.

At the conclusion of his military service, Mr. Mitchell earned his Master's degree in Finance from East Texas State University (now East Texas A&M) in Commerce. He was also a graduate of the SW Graduate School of Banking at SMU Cox in Dallas.

He worked as a bank examiner for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in San Antonio, then as a loan officer and vice president of First National Bank in Huntsville. After a stint as president of Cypress Bank in Houston he returned to Huntsville in 1975 to establish American Bank for the Allied Banking Group. Occupying a stately Georgian building on a rise overlooking 11th Street, American Bank was one of three banking institutions in the city at the time.

During his 35 years as its president, Mr. Mitchell saw the bank through tumult both economic and otherwise. In the aftermath of Hurricane Rita in 2005, Mr. Mitchell powered American Bank's ATMs through his generator so residents could access their funds.

In total, Mr. Mitchell worked in banking 42 years.

Mr. Mitchell's survivors include his wife Derril Mitchell, his daughter Stacy Puddy of Dallas and son Ronald Scott Mitchell of Los Angeles, his brother Glenn Mitchell, grandchildren Haley, Hannah, Ondine, Ynez and Montserrat, sister- and brother-in-law Debbie and William Dean, son-in-law Glenn Puddy, daughter-in-law Grace Krilanovich, nieces Leslie Mitchell and Kimberly Garcia, nephew Clayton Dean, and their respective children and spouses.

Mr. Mitchell's nephew Wayne Mitchell and sister-in-law Margaret predeceased him. His father passed in 1993 and his mother in 2008.

Friends and family will remember Mr. Mitchell's wry smile and endearing tenacity, his wholehearted commitment to his bank, its employees and customers, his generosity of spirit and dedication to his church and community. He was everyone's go-to for repair of all kinds, a skilled mechanic, a 40-year member of the Bedias Sportsmen Club, and an avid skier. His loss will be keenly felt in his workshop, the deer lease, his parish, and in the home he built with his wife of 61 years.

Speaking to Mr. Mitchell's integrity, longtime friend Donald Kraemer quipped: "You could shoot dice on the phone with him, because he was so honest."

Donations may be made to the First Baptist Church Building Fund, 1229 Avenue J, Huntsville, Texas 77340.