Wallace Bates Mitchell, formerly of Frankenmuth, passed away peacefully and surrounded by his family, on July 2, 2022, age 96 years.

Wally was born July 23, 1925, in Chicago, IL, the elder of two sons born to Paul N. and Ruth Bates Mitchell.

Wally grew up in a part of Chicago known as Beverly and graduated from Morgan Park Military Academy in 1944. About two months later, he was called to active duty with the Army Reserves. He reported to Ft. Custer in Michigan where he received his uniforms and was promoted to Corporal. After Basic Training, he entered Officer Candidate School, from which he graduated as a 2 ^nd Lieutenant. After further training and promotion to 1 ^st Lieutenant, Wally volunteered for overseas service and was shipped to the island of Leyte in the Philippines with the mission of rolling up the base there, as the war in the Pacific had ended a few months before. It was in the Philippines that Wally first met his wife to be, Doris Williams, a 1 ^st Lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps.

After an Honorable Discharge from the Army, Wally applied to, and was accepted at Indiana University, where he again met his future wife, Doris, also a student at IU in the Public Health Nursing Department. After a brief courtship, they were married and continued their studies at IU.

Wally graduated from IU with a degree in Business and went to work for JC Penney.  After several years with Penney's, Wally and family moved to Saginaw where he began working for Robert Hall. When Robert Hall decided to be open on Sundays, he left that company and went to work on the road selling wholesale clothing, finishing his long sales career with Herman's of Rock Island, IL.

Wally and Doris were long time and active members of Ames United Methodist Church in Saginaw.  They were also charter members of the Northeastern Michigan Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club. Wally and Doris were also lifetime members of the IU Alumni Association; the American Legion Post 150, and the VFW Post 2725, both of Frankenmuth.  Wally was also a past member of Toastmasters International.

Wally enjoyed spending time during the summer with Doris and their children and extended family at the family cottage on Klinger Lake in St. Joseph County, MI.  Upon Wally's retirement, they were able to spend even more time at the cottage, which they both really enjoyed.

Wally his survived by his four children: William Mitchell (Ray Martini), Ann (Lyle) Mather, Janice Mitchell (Robert Wilson) and Linda (Bruce) Rockwell.  He is also survived by six grandchildren:  Nathan (Nicole) Mather, Emily (Michael) Fine, Bruce (Anne) Rockwell, Jordan Rockwell, Georgia Rockwell and Jeff Rockwell (Lindsay Rice), as well as by nine great-grandchildren.

His beloved wife, Doris, pre-deceased him in 2017 and is interred with full military honors at the Great Lakes National Cemetery. Wally will be interred next to her on Friday, July 29.

Visitation will be at the Cederberg Funeral Home in Frankenmuth on­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Friday, July 29, from 2 to 4 PM, with a brief memorial service starting at 4 PM.

Wally had a good and full and happy life and will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, if you would like to make a donation in Wally's honor, please consider your local Meals on Wheels organization.