Dr. Benjamin Evans Mitchell

Dr. Benjamin Evans Mitchell, 89, longtime Baton Rouge resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. His immediate family held a graveside service prior to his interment in Greenoaks Memorial Park on Friday, Feb. 12. He was the son of Justa Evans Mitchell and Dr. Benjamin Foster Mitchell, both natives of Louisiana. A University High School Class of 1936 graduate, Ben attended LSU where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics. Named LSU's outstanding Reserve Officer Training Corps graduate, he was the only cadet in the LSU Class of 1941 who was selected for commissioning in the Marine Corps. Ben served with distinction during World War II in the Pacific Theater with the 6th Marine Division. His service included combat action during the amphibious invasion of Okinawa, a battle that claimed 200,000 lives. He departed the Marine Corps as a captain after completing a final assignment in Tsingtao, China, as a university provost. A man who truly embodied the adage "Once a Marine, always a Marine," he never missed a 6th Marine Division reunion. Upon returning home to Louisiana, he married Alice Watkinson at First Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. The couple soon moved to Wisconsin where Ben was awarded a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. After a short teaching stint at Auburn University, he joined LSU's mathematics department where he taught for 31 years until his retirement in 1983. His mathematics textbook, A New Look at Elementary Mathematics, formed an integral component of Louisiana's elementary school curriculum. Ben was an avid hunter, fisherman and naturalist who enjoyed observing wildlife throughout the Sportsman's Paradise. An accomplished amateur magician known for his close-up magic, Ben was active in the Society of American Magicians and in the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Ben is survived by his wife of 61 years, Alice Watkinson Mitchell, of Pearland, Texas; two daughters, Maureen Mitchell Gordon and husband Wayne, of Baton Rouge, and Fern Mitchell Hanslik and husband Kenneth, of Pearland; son, Dr. Benjamin S. Mitchell, of Virginia Beach, Va.; grandchildren, Brian Gordon, Catherine Hanslik and Christopher Hanslik; and great-granddaughter, Mary Elizabeth Gordon. Semper Fi.