Leland Mitchell

"Once you love someone, they stay in your heart forever"- Brother Bear 2

It is with broken hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved Leland James Mitchell, a son, grandson, brother, cousin, nephew and friend. On Wednesday, July 16th, 2025, Leland gained his angel wings after a courageous 10-month battle against Diffuse Midline glioma (DMG)- a rare pediatric brain cancer.

Born on Sunday, October 2nd, 2016, Leland brought so much warmth, laughter and light to everyone around him. He was so easy-going, had the biggest heart filled with so much love for everyone and an awesome sense of humor. Leland never took life for granted and enjoyed everything around him including playing many sports like baseball and soccer, loved listening to music and would sing to every song, and he LOVED family time with his siblings, cousins and friends. Whether it would be playing games like Mexican Train Dominoes, Uno, Minecraft, Pico Park and Ultimate Chicken Horse to having many imaginative times like indoor camping, dance parties and fun make-believe games, Leland always made it fun, filled with funny jokes and plenty of laughs. There was never a dull moment with Leland. He also enjoyed all his time with his mom, Auntie Martha and Auntie Summer and endlessly offered his hand to help in any way he could regardless of what it was. Leland loved eating especially all of Mama's (his grandmother) home-cooked meals. He would always ask, "When are we going to Mama's Café?".

Leland chose a Bull to be his Spirit Animal like from the movie Brother Bear. When asked why he said, "Because I am strong and fast". Even while facing his challenges of Stage 4 cancer, he stayed strong, positive and continued to make us laugh with his jokes and his beautiful smile. His strength shined so bright and he taught us what it truly means to be strong and to "Don't Stop Believing".

Leland is survived by his loving mom, Rozalynn, his 6 siblings, (Alano, Mikaela, Eli, Vinci, MarleyRae and Micah B.), his grandparents, (Ray and Alicia), his great grandmother (Maria), his Aunties, (Reggie, Roxanne and Rhea), his cousins, (Ichiro, Amari, Andrew, Riley, Aaliyah and Jalen), a huge circle of family and friends and his little furry best friend, Kimchi, who never left his side through his journey. We will cherish every minute we shared with him and his love and memories will stay with us forever.

Leland, even though your time was too short and you were taken from us too early, you left such a positive impact on all of our lives. You are a LEGEND! Such a fighter until the end and your life story will remain with us always and forever!