Mary Anna Mitchell

Mary Anna Owens was born in Kilgore on July 21, 1933, and was the youngest of six children in the family of Rev. O.S. and Mrs. Ruth Lee Owens. Growing up as the child of traveling evangelist/church planters, they moved often and she graduated from high school in Raymondville, Texas in 1951. The Owens family life centered around church. The children could sing before they could walk. As soon as they were old enough, they each learned to play a musical instrument in order to contribute to the family worship.

Mary chose the guitar; singing, strumming and loving the Lord in the family band. As a young adult Mary obtained an old Martin guitar that was her pride and joy. Every family get-together, out it would come and music would fill the house of whichever family member was hosting. A music teacher and shop owner once saw Mary taking the guitar out of its case and immediately said, “I’ll trade you a brand new 12 string guitar for that Martin you have there.” Mary just laughed and replied, “I wouldn’t know what to do with 12 strings! Thank you, though.”

Mary returned to Kilgore after graduating and on Oct 18, 1958 she married the love of her life, Charles Franklin Mitchell. But ONLY after he promised that they would never move from Kilgore. Moving so often as a child had taken its’ toll on her. She had never attended the same school two years in a row, never wanted to move again and refused to get married unless he promised they wouldn’t move. A cowboy through and through, “Charlie” loved Mary so much that he made – and kept – that promise for almost 60 years of their marriage. Charles left the cows, horses, ranch life and family in West Texas behind. He settled down for life in a small East Texas oilfield town with Mary.

Church remained an integral part of Mary’s life. Singing in the choir, Saturday visitations, teaching Sunday School, working garage sales, making peanut brittle for fundraisers and the Tuesday night Mexican dinners at First Pentecostal Church were just part of her life. For a while, there were the “Cajun Cousins”, making Cajun Meat Pies with Debbie Clark, and Essie Smith.

Mary loved her girls Sunday School class! She spent hours every week studying, praying, preparing, and even practicing demonstrations to help cement the message into the hearts and lives of each girl. Even now, the women who were girls in her classes recall her vivid and heart-felt lessons with love and admiration.

It wasn’t just church where Mary found joy and personal satisfaction, though. Having devoted the first two decades of her married life to being a stay-at-home mom to her two children and working part-time, she expanded her horizons by becoming a rural mail carrier for the Kilgore Post Office in 1982. She loved the outdoors. She loved talking. She loved meeting people. It was a match made in postal heaven! It was an exciting life…and Mary gave it everything she had for 17 years before retiring December 31, 1999.

When she wasn’t at work or church, Mary could be found outside. She loved gardening, pushing a lawnmower, fishing and other activities. And when bones began to creak and time began taking its toll, Mary still rebelled. She walked the neighborhood determined to stay active. She refused to hire a lawn service and well into her eighties she kept mowing with a push mower, a little bit every day….to stay active. She played sudoku and word games to keep her brain active. She read books and her Bible every day until her mind couldn’t retain what she read and words began to make no sense.

Even in recent years, she still took pleasure in watching the birds…seeing flowers bloom… hearing a child laugh…. the taste of coffee, Popeyes chicken and Whataburger. She rebelled at the encroaching restrictions of aging and the harsh realities of dementia…until finally, on Sunday morning, November 30, 2025 when the bell rang for her and she stepped into her very first Sunday School Class in Heaven right about 9:45 AM. She found herself ageless and beautiful, whole again, and walking through the Pearly Gates… and she was right on time. It was a time familiar to her because for decades that was the time Sunday School started at the First Pentecostal Church of Kilgore. She was never late then – and she wasn’t late that day, either. Heaven’s timing is always perfect.

Mary is survived by her son Clint Mitchell and daughter-in-law Tawnya, of Arp, Texas and her son Paul Mitchell of Springdale, Arkansas. She has four grandchildren, many nieces, nephews and extended family as well as her life-long church family and friends.