Avis J. Mitchell

Visitation: Thursday, January 19, 2006 at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home with family receiving friends from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Funeral Service: Friday, January 20, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Miles City

Interment: will be held in the family lot of the Custer County Cemetery

Avis J. Mitchell passed away peacefully from cancer at her home in Miles City with her family by her side on January 17, 2006.

Avis Jean Baldwin was born on October 10, 1928 at Ismay, Montana to A.E. Baldwin and Esther Louise Baker Baldwin. She was raised on the family ranch with her sisters and brother. There, she learned the self-reliance and work ethic she carried with her for the rest of her life. She attended Coal Creek School, a rural one-room school located 16 miles west of Ismay, where she was the only student in her class for eight years. She attended high school in Ismay, living at the local hotel with her sister, Doris, and returning home to the ranch on weekends. She graduated as valedictorian in 1946. Later, she took classes in art, language, and business at Miles Community College.

Following high school graduation she moved to Miles City. Her first employment was with the Miles City Bank, and then with the Miles City Star Printing Company. On June 10, 1951, Avis married W.A. Mitchell, Jr., at the First Presbyterian Church in Miles City. Avis and Bill had two children, Laura Ann and William Ashford. Bill and Avis raised their family in Miles City where Bill was the president of the W.A. Mitchell Agency, an insurance and real estate business. Independent Insurance Agents Association meetings gave Avis the opportunity to travel with Bill. Avis created a home for her family that reflected her interest in architecture, the arts, and gardening. Friends and family enjoyed the style in which she celebrated special occasions and entertained.

After her children left home, Avis spent a great deal of time supporting the arts in Miles City. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Custer County Art and Heritage Center. Preceding the creation of the Art Center, she was an active member of the Miles City Branch of the Montana Institute of the Arts, serving as president from 1970 to 1972. She believed that the Miles City area, including rural schools like the one she had attended, would benefit from a permanent art center where children and adults could participate in art classes and view original art. The old Miles City waterworks was secured for conversion to art galleries, offices, and workrooms. Many volunteer hours were spent scraping sedimentation from the walls of the former settling tanks before they were converted into gallery space. Because of her own commitment, Avis was willing to ask others for financial support for the Center. She served as the first president of the board of directors of the Center. She was elected president for a total of eight years. She served continuously on the Centers Board of Directors from 1976 to the present. To provide for the long-term operation of the Art Center, Avis helped to establish the Custer County Art Center Foundation in 1986. She served as president of the Foundation from 1986 to the time of her death. In 2003, Avis accepted, on behalf of the Art Center, the Governors Arts Award. At that time, the Center was described as, one of the states premiere exhibition spaces for visual artists. In addition to her work with the arts in Miles City, Avis was appointed to the Montana Arts Council Advisory Board from 1976 - 1980, the Montana Art Advocates Steering Committee from 1978 1980, and the University of Montana School of Fine Arts Advisory Council in 2004.

As a competitor in the best sense of the word, Avis enjoyed playing golf. She was a student of the game, constantly working to improve. She was the Town & Country Club womens champion six times. She had three holes-in-one on the Miles City course, one on hole number 3 and two on hole number 8. She played in numerous Montana Womens State Amateur Tournaments, winning or placing in her flight several times. She was proud of her sons choice of the golf business as his career.

Avis and Bill believed travel is a wonderful way to learn about the world. They traveled often and appreciated the chance to experience many different cultures first-hand. They had traveled to South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe as well as through much of the United States. A 50-day trip to Asia and the Middle East, taken in early 2001 to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary, was especially memorable. They also took each of their granddaughters on her first trip to New York City, a city they particularly enjoyed. As involved members of the Miles City community, Avis and Bill frequently attended Custer County District High School football and basketball games, Miles Community College basketball and baseball games, American Legion Baseball games, as well as community and high school concerts and foreign films. Avis was an active member of the Miles City First Presbyterian Church for nearly sixty years.

Avis and Bill established scholarships to the University of Montana for students from eastern Montana in the School of Business and for students in the School of Fine Arts in both music and visual arts. They also provided scholarships to students at Custer County District High School and Miles Community College. Avis will be remembered as an elegant woman with true grace. She was generous and supportive of her family in all they endeavored. Her parents, A.E. and Esther Baldwin, as well as her sister, Doris Baldwin Ciampa, preceded her in death.

She is survived by her husband, W.A. (Bill) Mitchell, Jr., of Miles City, MT, her daughter, Laura Mitchell Ross and her husband John Walker Ross, and their children, Hillary and Elizabeth Ross, and her son, William (Bill) Mitchell, and his children, Heather and Lindsey Mitchell, all of Billings, MT. She is also survived by her sister, Lela Baldwin Torgrimson, and her husband, Bob, of Miles City, her sister, Sally Baldwin ONeal, and her husband, Bill, of Odessa, TX, and her brother, John Baldwin, and his wife, Therese, of the family ranch near Ismay. She is also survived by her brother-in-law, Richard G. Mitchell, and his wife, Margaret. She is survived by many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, January 19, 2006 at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home with family receiving friends from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Funeral services will be held on Friday, January 20, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Miles City. Interment will be held in the family lot of the Custer County Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family by visitingwww.stevensonandsons.com. Should friends desire, memorials may be made to the Custer County Art Center Foundation, P.O. Box 1284, Miles City, MT 59301, the First Presbyterian Church, 1401 Main, Miles City, MT 59301, or the Holy Rosary Hospice, 2600 Wilson, Miles City, MT 59301.