Robert C. Mitchum Jr.

NEWTON - Robert C. Mitchum Jr., 71, of Newton, died Monday, June 7, 2010, at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem of heart disease. A retired Lutheran pastor, social worker and college professor, he served parishes in Richmond, Ind., Stephens City and Winchester, Va., and North Lima and Youngstown, Ohio, before returning to North Carolina. Here he served as a counselor for the Crisis Intervention and Child and Adult Exploitation and Neglect Section of the Catawba County Department of Social Services and then as an instructor at Catawba Valley Community College. During his retirement years, Mr. Mitchum served on the Chaplaincy Board and as an adjunct chaplain at Catawba Valley Medical Center. At Beth Eden Lutheran Church in Newton, he was a deacon on the church council, chaired the Ecumenical Committee, and was a member of the JOY class. He served as a lay reader at St. Joseph's Catholic Church and was instrumental in establishing a covenant between Beth Eden and St. Joseph's. For his service, Mr. Mitchum received honorary life membership in the Lutheran Men in Mission auxiliary of the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a certificate of appreciation from Beth Eden Lutheran Church, and the Correctional Achievers Program Award for meritorious service from the South Piedmont Region of the North Carolina Correctional Association. Mr. Mitchum was born March 21, 1939, in Lincolnton. He was the son of the late Robert C. "Jack" and Baine Mitchum. He was a graduate of Lincolnton High School, Lenoir-Rhyne College and Hamma Divinity School in Ohio. Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Lois Veler Mitchum; his children, Dr. Robert Andrew "Andy" Mitchum and wife, Deborah, of Greensboro and Sarah M. Hollingsworth and husband, Dwight, of Matthews; and four grandchildren, Emily and Michael Mitchum, Victoria and Elizabeth Hollingsworth. A service of remembrance will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 11, 2010, at Beth Eden Lutheran Church in Newton. The Rev. Dr. Jane Mitcham, the Rev. Chad Walker and the Rev. Scott Gilfillan will officiate, and burial will follow at Hollybrook Cemetery in Lincolnton. The family will receive friends from noon to 1:45 p.m. on Friday in the church fellowship hall. Memorials may be made to Beth Eden Lutheran Church, 400 N. Main Ave, Newton, N.C. 28658. The Mitchum family has entrusted funeral arrangements to Willis-Reynolds Funeral Home & Crematory in Newton.