Ernestine Burson Mitchell

"To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" 2 Corinthians 5:8

ERNESTINE BURSON MITCHELL was born on January 29, 1945, to Pearl Fields Burson and Walter Burson, Sr., in Estill, South Carolina. She received her formal education in Hampton County Schools in Estill, SC. She received her high school diploma from Daytona State College. She furthered her education at the University of South Carolina, earning a bachelor's degree in Organization Management at the age of seventy-five. It was her lifelong goal to pursue an education.

Ernestine Burson Mitchell accepted Christ as her Savior at an early age and was united with First Thankful Baptist Church. She later became a member of Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, FL, where she participated in the choir and the Women's Missionary Union until her return to First Thankful Baptist in 2001, where she was a member who served on the choir and served with the kitchen ministry.

Ernestine Burson was united in holy matrimony with James S. Mitchell on August 6, 1963, in Hampton, SC. Their union was blessed with four children: Janet Mitchell Pandy, Jennifer Mitchell Wilson, James S. Mitchell, Jr. and Emmanuel Mitchell.

In her leisure, she enjoyed spending time with her children, grandchildren and other family members as well as eating good food. She enjoyed cultivating her rose garden, singing in the choir and mentoring fellow students at the University of South Carolina. Ernestine was a devoted mother, grandmother and wife. Ernestine was employed by Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach, Florida; as well as, Hampton County School District 2 and Head Start in Estill, South Carolina.

Ernestine Burson Mitchell departed this life on September 22, 2025. She was preceded in death by her parents, Pearl Fields Burson and Walter Burson, Sr.; sisters, Carene Burson, Pearl Weaver and Marylou Gray; brothers, Walter Burson, Jr., and Henry Burson, Sr, and her son-in-law, Hubert Wilson, Jr.

She leaves to cherish her memories; husband, James S. Mitchell, Sr.; daughters, Janet Mitchell Pandy and Jennifer Mitchell Wilson; sons, James S. Mitchell, Jr and Emmanuel Mitchell; son-in-law, Stanley Pandy, Sr.; daughter-in-law, Alveria Katina Mitchell; six grandchildren, Stanley Pandy II, James Pandy, Leimund Pandy, Jessica Pandy, Emmanuel Javion Mitchell and Jaiden Ahmari Mitchell; ten great grandchildren, Joanna, James, Jade, Amya, Stanley, Sarai, Isaiah, Grace, Lydia and Zayden; sisters, Annie Lee Blake, Elnora Merriweather and Viola Harris; brothers, Murray Burson, Sr and Sam Burson and a host of other family members and friends.