Steven Mitchell Obituary

Mitchell
Steven Duncan Mitchell
July 18, 1931
May 30, 2024

Steven Duncan Mitchell passed away on May 30, 2024, just shy of his 93rd birthday.
He was born on July 18, 1931 in Hollywood, California to Glenn Alexander Mitchell and Katherine Day Kimball. He and his younger brother, Jimmy, grew up on the beaches of San Diego County surfing, snorkeling, and diving for abalone. Steve was an excellent athlete; he played all the prep sports, but it was a football scholarship from Stanford University that provided him with a degree in geology.
He was a proud US Marine, spending two years at Camp Pendelton training other marines at the end of the Korean War. It was during this time that he met his first wife, Darlene Joyce Wilburn. They were married in California in 1957 and then promptly moved to Wyoming, where Steve earned his Masters Degree in Geology, where Darlene helped with mapping his master's thesis, and where two of their three children were born. By 1961, they relocated to California, where Steve had a long career in the aerospace industry, and their third child was born. Another career move in the 1975 took the family to western Colorado.
Throughout this time, Steve and the family enjoyed skiing and backpacking, later hunting and mountain climbing. The move to Colorado sparked his goal to climb all of Colorado's "14ers." After accomplishing this, he set another goal: to climb Kilimanjaro, which he achieved at 70 years young.
After divorcing in 1980, Steve worked both in California and in Louisiana before settling down in Colorado Springs, where he met his wife, Nalda Dinkelacker Smith, who shared his love of tennis, hiking, biking, and skiing. They married in 1987, and together they traveled the world.
Based in Colorado Springs for nearly 40 years, Steve put down the hunting rifle and took up the bow. He was an active member in the Colorado Bowhunter's Association, serving as East Regional Director, Treasurer, Banquet Co-Chairman, Kamp for Kids and Jamboree Volunteer. He was instrumental in starting the "Becoming a Bowhunter" program coordinated with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife for people of all ages. On the "heels" of the Hunger Games franchise, he was especially excited that so many young girls wanted to participate.
Steve was instrumental, through his persistence from 2003 to 2014, in getting a permanent static archery range and 3-D target course at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. He talked with residences around the Park at its conception, built targets, laid courses, staked targets, cleared trails and brush. The range was the first Archery Range in a Colorado State Park and served as a model for the development of ranges throughout the State. He was active in the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation as well.
Steve taught local geology for both Rhoads Scholar and Pikes Peak State College, and he particularly enjoyed taking students on field trips, where his science "came to life." He was a published author, both scholarly and anecdotally, including articles in Bowhunter Magazine. He was a published amateur photographer, but he also recorded the lives of his extended family, his hunting adventures, and his travels with Nalda in volumes of albums. And he was an active member in the First Presbyterian Church, and a mentor in their cancer ministry.
Desiring to be live once again near an ocean, Steve and Nalda (Nod) moved to Southern California on his 90th birthday. Although initially settling in La Jolla, by 2022 they moved to Corona, to be close to two of Nalda's sons.
Steven was a beloved husband, a cherished father to three and uncle to one, an admired step-father to four, a treasured grandfather to five, and step-grandfather and great-grandfather to many more. He was a teacher and an adventurer, and he enjoyed sharing his passions with his family, his friends, and his community. His long life may be attributed to his natural gifts as an athlete, his inquiring mind, and his important social connections, be it church or community groups.
His family would like to thank the staff at Estancia Del Sol for their kind and compassionate care during the two years he lived there.
A memorial service is scheduled in Colorado Springs on October 18th 2024 at 11 AM, with a reception to follow, at the First Presbyterian Church. He will be interred at an old family cemetery plot in Trinidad, Colorado. In lieu of flowers, a Memorial Gift in Steven's name may be made to the Colorado Bowhunters Association or the Audubon Society.