Lance’s Obituary Lance Mitchell went into the arms of Jesus on January 21, 2019, after complications from a stroke. He was born to Richard W. and Avis O. Mitchell on March 5, 1951 in Portland, Maine. Lance graduated high school from Glen Cove Christian Academy, Glen Cove, Maine in 1969.
He went to Northeastern Bible College in Es Fells, New Jersey, where he met and married his wife Lois Waterman in 1972. Lance graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Religion Education. He and Lois continued on to Denver Theological Seminary where he graduated in 1978 with a Masters in Divinity and became ordained.
Under Conservative Baptist Home Missions, Lance became the founding pastor of the Wilbraham Baptist Church in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, which grew from a core group of eight to over one hundred. In 1987, he became the Vice President of Safe Environment of America doing sales and environmental abatement. Lance then became a manufacturer’s representative for several companies outside of Chicago.
At the time of his death, he had moved back to Maine and was a manufacturer’s representative for Green Eagle Technologies and an Assistant Pastor at the South Windham Community Church, South Windham, Maine. Always a teacher, he could be found substitute teaching in the Bonny Eagle school district right up until he passed, another way of giving to others. Lance was quick witted and could usually put a smile on anyone’s face with his captive personality, always with so many stories to tell.
Fiercely competitive, he loved sports but especially watching his daughter’s cheerleading team compete and his grandchildren’s teams, often taking last minute trips to watch them. He loved a challenge and when finding a friend in need, he could be found standing beside them until they succeeded, whether it be from building something, making a repair or just talking it through. He was a determined man of integrity, who, though he endured much loss in his life, remained courageous and compassionate, always doing for others.
He deeply loved God and his family in that order. He was passionate about his faith and for leading people to Jesus Christ. He was quick to befriend many.
He was dearly loved by many and will be deeply missed. Lance is pre-deceased by his parents, his beloved wife, Lois, and son, James Lance Mitchell. He is survived by his beloved daughter, Kristie Reed and husband, Mark, of Carmel, Maine, their two children Eli and Lyndsee, whom he enjoyed so much, and a daughter-in-law Kim Mitchell of Forest, Virginia.
He also leaves behind a sister, Elaine Conant, of Limington, Maine, three sisters-in-law, Laura Lockhart and husband, Mike, of Manchester, Connecticut, Margaret Kuehl and husband, Dan, of Villa Park, Illinois, and Ruthie Beck and husband, Dan, of Waldoboro, Maine, and finally a brother-in-law Tim Waterman and wife, Monica, of Knoxville, Tennessee. He also leaves a former wife, Kristie Michel of Elmhurst, Illinois, and family, along with aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. Funeral services are to be held at Scarborough Free Baptist Church, Scarborough, Maine, on Sunday, February 10, 2019.
Visiting hours will be at 2 pm with a service at 3 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Lance’s memory to the following ministry that was dear to his heart, Trinity Homeless Shelter, 12 McClellan Str Suite 2, Skowhegan, ME 04976 or www. shelterbyjesus.org.
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