Thomas Mitchell Snipes Jr.

Thomas “Mitchell” Snipes, Jr., 85, passed away peacefully on Dec 28, 2019. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Barbara Henderson Snipes; daughter Deborah Murdock and husband Rick; daughter Stacey Colvard and husband Bill; son David Snipes and wife Caroline; and daughter Teresa Mitchell and husband Darren. He is also survived by 5 grandchildren: Ryan, Morgan, Kaleigh, Samantha, and Scott (Wyatt), 4 great grandsons: Henry, Wyatt, Liam, and Colton, and his sister Beatrice Scruggs, who lives with her daughter, Sue, in Marietta, GA.

Mitchell was preceded in death by his father, Thomas Mitchell Snipes, Sr., his mother Ruby Elizabeth Whitlock, his brother Jimmy, and his sister Grace.

Mitchell was born on June 11, 1934 in Commerce, GA. He graduated from William A. Bass High School in Atlanta in 1952, after which he joined the Navy. He served as a corpsman/medic until he was honorably discharged in 1956.
Mitchell married in 1955 and he and his young family became involved with the Smyrna Girls Softball Association at Jonquil Park in 1966. During his 10-12 years there, he held several offices and coached slow pitch softball to hundreds of girls, including all three of his daughters. In his younger days he had played fast pitch softball and could throw the ball harder and faster under-handed than over-handed. Many of the kids he coached loved trying to hit off of him during practice!

During this time, Mitchell also began working in the service department of the Atlanta Gas Light Company. He retired after 42 years.

Mitchell and Barbara married in 1981. They became members of Skyland United Methodist Church. During his time at Skyland, Mitchell served on the Board of Trustees and the Building Committee.
Mitchell loved plants and flowers. He had such a green thumb, it was often said that he could put a stick in the ground and it would grow! When his kids bought their homes, it would only be a short time before he and Barbara would be there planting trees, shrubs, and flowers alongside them.

One of his favorite hobbies was golf. He was an excellent golfer and shared his passion with his kids and later, with their spouses. They, in turn, have passed that passion along to their kids and their spouses. Of all the wonderful memories we have from our golf outings our favorite will always be our last one with him at Top Golf, where four generations gathered to celebrate his 84th birthday in June 2018.

Mitchell will be greatly missed by all of us, but whenever our hearts feel heavy we can turn on any Bob Segar or CCR song and know he’s looking down from heaven, singing along with us with a big smile on his face!