Funeral services for Ronnie Mitchell, 71, of Portales, will be held at 10:00 AM, Wed., Sept. 29, 2021 in the Wheeler Mortuary Chapel with Rev. Jeff Fox officiating assisted by Rev. Ronnie Fox. Burial will follow in the Portales Cemetery with Eric Pilgrim, Gary Jones, Kevin Mitchell, Shane Mitchell, Callen Mitchell and Cameron McKinley serving as pallbearers. Josiah Pilgrim, Jonathan Jones, Samuel Jones, B. K. Lanier, George Price, Eric Niconovich and Grant Ham have been named as honorary pallbearers. Those desiring to make memorial contributions may send them to the Apache Creek Deaf and Youth Ranch, P O Box 260, Reserve, NM 87830.
Ronald Dean Mitchell, known to virtually everyone as Ronnie, was born Jan. 16, 1950 in Trinidad, CO to the home of Sybil (Johnson) and David “Edmon” Mitchell, and died on the evening of Sept. 24, 2021 in Portales, NM. The family moved from Des Moines, NM to Portales when Ronnie was 7 years old. Within a few years, his dad purchased some cows and began a dairy. Ronnie has been a dairyman ever since. On June 22, 1968 in Portales, he was married to Demarys Weems. Ronnie was a member of the Grace Fellowship Baptist Church in Portales, and was very active in the Rock of Ages Prison Ministry in Texas for more than ten years. He was always very bold in witnessing to others about his deep faith. In addition to running his dairy farm, Ronnie really loved to take his camper and his Can Am and his dog, Cookie, and go to the mountains or sand dunes where he would often spend several days running up and down the dunes or around in the mountains.
Ronnie is survived by Demarys, his wife of more than 53 years; three daughters and sons-in-law, Linda and Gary Jones of Winder, GA, Jewell and George Price of Winder, GA and Gail and Eric Pilgrim of Radcliff, KY; a son and daughter-in-law, Callen and Jeanette Mitchell of Clovis; fifteen grandchildren, Jessica (B.K.) Lanier, Amanda (Eric) Niconovich, Hannah (Grant) Ham, Jonathan Jones, Samuel Jones, Ronnie Price, Sarah Price, Sarah Mueller, Josiah Pilgrim, Adelaide Pilgrim, Shane (Amanda) Mitchell, Kevin (Tori) Mitchell, Kaylee Mitchell, Ashley Mitchell and Hannah Medina; eight great-grandchildren; and a brother and sister-in-law, Mike and Maricella Mitchell of Farwell, TX. He was preceded in death by both of his parents, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and a sister, Shirley Ann Molinar.
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