Charlotte B. Mitchell

Charlotte was born in New York City and spent most of her childhood years in Berkeley, California. She loved her Berkeley home. She watched the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge being built. She remembered the Sunday paper’s shiny sepia color bridge photos and how she would pin the pictures up on her ceiling to admire.

Charlotte finished high school in NYC and graduated from Barnard College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in music. Some of her happiest times in college were with the choir group singing six days a week at neighboring Columbia University. She attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, continuing her piano studies. Charlotte performed Summer Stock with Salisbury Theatre in Salisbury, New Hampshire, then returned to NYC where she met and married Alexander (“Allie”) C. Mitchell, MD. They raised six children in rural Pittstown, New Jersey. Charlotte loved music and community theatre. She was a cast member for 10 years with the Repertory Readers performing at the Music Hall in Clinton, New Jersey.

She and Allie, who shared her passion for music and played the viola, joined chamber music groups throughout their lives. When the children were grown, Charlotte returned to school and received a Master of Arts degree in music education from Trenton State in New Jersey and taught piano privately, until she and Allie retired to Onchiota in the Adirondacks.

Charlotte enjoyed canoeing, gardening, reading, swimming, hiking, supporting local artists, hosting friends and family, and she and Allie loved their many travels around the world with family and friends. Good fortune led them to join a wonderful group of musicians, so daily practice became preparation for evenings of living room performances. She was a member of the Episcopal Church of St. Luke the Beloved Physician in Saranac Lake, where she sang in the choir and occasionally played the organ. She and her husband then lived in Warminster, Pennsylvania for five years, where she continued to play music with her piano friends at the Settlement Music School in Willow Grove.

Charlotte dedicated her life to her children, six grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. She will forever be missed and have a place in the hearts of those she touched. She is survived by her sister, Norine Grant of Peabody, Massachusetts; her children, Christine Mitchell-Kenney (Andrew) of Punta Gorda, Florida, Alexander C. Mitchell, Jr. (Lisa) of Aspers, Pennsylvania, Karen Nelson of Chino, California, Scott Mitchell (Ellen) of Nutley, New Jersey, Barbara Conly (Len) of Millsboro, Delaware and Joseph Mitchell of Punta Gorda, Florida. Private services will be held next year in Saranac Lake.

Online condolences can be left by visiting www.melsonfuneralservices.com.