Henry Mitchell

Henry Mitchell, a beloved husband, father, brother, grandfather, great grandfather, uncle, great uncle, great great uncle and a talented musician throughout Chicago and surrounding areas passed away on April 15, 2025 at the age of 95 surrounded by family in Madison, Wisconsin.

Born on July 26, 1929 to Henry and Marie Mitchell, Henry grew up and lived nearly his entire life in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Henry graduated from Harrison High School, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and completed two years of study at DePaul University.

Henry’s passion and love of music began at an early age in his childhood and continued until he retired at the age of 85. He played a number of instruments including the trumpet, flugelhorn, coronet, and continued with the electric bass, double bass, and his beautiful singing voice. He knew a lengthy repertoire of songs and could pull one out of his pocket at any time and just start singing to you up until his passing.

Henry’s music career spanned 77 years from the 1940’s through 2015. He had incredible opportunities in which he worked with people such as Count Bassie and Tex Beneke. He was the choir director for the Santa Fe Railroad and did live radio back in the day. He worked for over 20 years at Schnitzel Platz German Restaurant in Glen Ellyn, IL where he had the joy and honor of playing his double bass and singing to multi generations of people. He loved it when children grew up and brought their children into the restaurant to have the same experience as their parents.

He was a magnetic force that people gravitated towards, and he accepted and loved them all. He was compassionate, loving, caring, attentive, and brought an unlimited flow of positive energy to any room he entered with that incredible smile and twinkle in his eye. He made us all laugh and positively impacted the lives of so many others.

Henry also worked at the Sante Fe Railroad and Motorola in Chicago. He owned H.A. Mitchell distributors and one of the greatest and most fun treats was when his children, nephews and nieces, wife and sisters joined him on one of his routes. It was like an adventure each time someone joined him for the day

Henry was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Marie, his sisters June Kukovec, Marie Hardt and Genevieve Rajnic, and son Robert Mitchell. He is survived by

his wife Teddie Mitchell; children Suzie Kroeger, Judy Mitchell (Jeff Milbrath), Ted Mitchell; by his grandchildren Jeremy Mitchell, Michael Mitchell (JoMarie), Kyle Vernon, Adam Milbrath, Tasha Vernon (Tom), Kevin Mitchell (Madeline), Casey Vernon, Ryan Milbrath, Anna Mitchell; and by his great-grandchildren Elizabeth Mitchell, Joseph Foeller, Henry Mitchell; and many many nephews, nieces, great nephews, nieces, and great great nephews and nieces.

His journey through life, once described as “epic,” suits him and now he finds peaceful rest still singing and still playing music.

A celebration of life service will be held on 5/17/2025
St. Alexander Catholic Church
300 S Cornell, Villa Park, IL 60181.
Service at 10:15 am.
Lunch to follow

Henry will be buried at a later date in Abraham Lincoln Memorial Cemetery with full military honors.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the following:
Music Institute of Chicago https://www.musicinst.org/support-mic
ChiMOP https://www.chimop.org/contact
Merit School of Music https://meritmusic.org/community-programs/

Or, another music program that supports opportunities for children to learn a love for making music, that they can share with the world around them.