Words of Tribute

My dad was born on January 14th, 1954 in La Junta, CO to Don and Joy Mitchell. The family moved to Texas while he was still young. One of the most significant memories my dad recounted about his childhood was the time he spent living with Mom and Pop, his maternal grandparents. His older brother had been in an accident, and the family’s attention was turned to him. My dad said that he loved having the undivided attention from his grandparents, and he cultivated a strong relationship with them during this time. They taught him many values, especially the value of hard work. They were two of the people he admired most in this world. The only person he may have loved more was his good mother.

When My dad was twelve, the family moved to Albuquerque. His youthful years were filled with extra curricular activities. He was a good student and loved sports. At 5’9” he was surprisingly good at basketball. He was quick and aggressive, and I do believe he dunked the ball on occasion.

At UNM, My dad’s focus shifted somewhat from sports to academics. He majored in math with a minor in economics. Clearly, he was interested, and very good at, working with numbers. He convinced professors to let him take a handful of accounting classes giving him just enough knowledge to take and pass the CPA exam. He passed three of four parts to the exam on the first try, which was all that was needed at that time. The fourth part was business law, and my dad said he never studied a single question for it. He took a risk, studying only the other three parts, hoping he passed them. It paid off. He would later go back to UNM for an MBA, which he was also very proud of.

My dad went to work for Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and did a little bit of audit work and then moved into tax work. His reviews were positive, and he advanced quickly. One night he and his friend decided to work for 24 hours straight, just to say they’d done it. He was thrilled to see the look on his colleagues’ faces when they realized My dad had worked the night through. He then packed up and went home to bed. He was a manger on the Southwest Bank account and they finally convinced him to leave his Big Eight firm and go to work for the bank.

His time at Sunwest was also enjoyable for him. He had a new bride Stephanie. With her, he had two children (myself and my brother Bradley). Sunday was arguably his favorite day, when he had the two kids to himself. We’d frequent the zoo and the museum and Putt-putt. He told us he was “Super Dad,” and I think we believed him. He seemed to know so much about everything. He was also so strong. He was really good at lifting furniture and moving it around so that we could make a pretty neat fort in the living room. He’d probably be embarrassed that I said this, but we loved when he read us bedtime stories. He would get so into it, making Jack Prelutsky sound quite dramatic.

During all of this fun, he moved into the gaming industry at the Santa Fe Downs. It soon led to a vice president opportunity at Caesar’s World in Las Vegas, Nevada. He led all sorts of projects in places all over the world. Some of his favorites include Mallorca, Spain; Dublin, Ireland; and Johannesburg, South Africa. He was an adventuresome soul and was captivated with other cultures. My dad tried all sorts of exotic cuisine and was disappointed, I think, he ended up with two picky-eaters for children.

My dad had another exciting VP position with Magna Entertainment, owner of Santa Anita Downs. He then moved on to the Maloof Group of Companies also as a vice president. He helped to open the Palms Hotel and Casino. They even printed his face on fake money used at the opening. This was a really good time for him and his son Bradley. They made many weekend trips to watch the Kings play in Sacramento.

The Venetian then offered him a job to open a casino in Macau, China. He was delighted with the opportunity and promptly moved to Macau. Here he developed a strong affinity for all things Chinese: food, artwork, and the people. He made quite a tasty bok choy dish. I don’t think the casino would have opened without his relentless dedication and gaming knowledge. He was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known.

He was also one of the most athletic. He loved to exercise. Whether it be basketball at the Boys and Girls club, squash at Midtown, or snorkeling in our backyard swimming pool, he was most content when working out. Many famous people passed through the health club he belonged to in Las Vegas. He loved to tell the story about playing Mike Tyson one-on-one in basketball. “There’s a reason Mike is a boxer,” he said. In other words, my dad creamed him.

Another favorite sport of his was playing basketball in the swimming pool. The teams were usually him and my mom versus my brother and me. He shamelessly drove the ball at me over and over, having no qualms about dunking on his kids. Of course his team always won.

Watching sports was almost as exciting for My dad as playing them. He used to have season tickets to the Lobo basketball games and proudly wore his cherry sweater. The Sacramento Kings were probably his favorite pro basketball team; although, he did love Sir Charles with the Phoenix Suns as well. Oh, and of course, he loved his Dallas Cowboys.

The two qualities my dad possessed that I admire most are generosity and a forgiving nature. He hardly thought twice about donating money to charities, and we found several charitable checks on his desk written shortly before he passed. The Quarters was a favorite restaurant of his, and he would treat the whole family every chance he got. When I say the whole family, he would take out uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, on both his side and my mom’s side of the family. It was his way of showing he cared.

My very favorite quality was his quick ability to forgive. I don’t think he ever once followed through with grounding us because he always said, “I’m sorry, and if you say you’re sorry too, we’ll call it even.” I was in a car accident my freshman year of college, just two weeks after my parents reluctantly bought me a car. He called from China and said, “Cissy, it’ll be alright. Don’t worry about the car. I’m just so glad you’re okay.”

He spent his last few years on earth trying to mend and strengthen relationships with family, friends, and with God. I know the Lord must be very proud of him for that. I know I am. We will sure miss him but I am so glad to know he is at peace.