Wade Allen Mitchell

Wade Allen Mitchell was born on August 12, 1941 to the late Homer and Arlene (Stevens) Mitchell at their home in Huntington, Vermont. He grew up in Huntington with his many siblings and was a standout three-sport athlete at Richmond High School. He played soccer and basketball, but he particularly excelled at baseball. He was co-captain of the baseball team and pitched the team to four consecutive Class M state championships. Wade went on to play baseball at Curry College and Lyndon State College, where his performance earned him invitations to the Cape Cod Baseball League two summers in a row where he made the All-League Team and the All Star Team both years. Wade had a short stint with the Kansas City AAA Team and gained attention from the New York Yankees. Unfortunately, Wade's professional baseball career ended early due to an injury, but it only opened the doors to his successful coaching career.
The rest of Wade's life was defined by his love for his family and sports. Wade and his wife Anna were married in 1966 and remained so for the rest of his life. They went on to have three children: Timothy Allen Mitchell in 1967, Terry Allen Mitchell in 1968, and Todd Allen Mitchell in 1970. In 1983, Wade opened Mitchell Tee's & Signs in Pittsford with his three sons.
In addition to the family business, Wade spent 28 years coaching high school baseball and basketball at Proctor High School and Otter Valley Union High School and amassed a cumulative record of 330-163. He spent 13 years coaching baseball at Proctor, where he coached his teams to a record of 142-65, three consecutive state championships, and four MVL titles. He also coached the Proctor boys basketball team to a record of 50-17, which included multiple Final Four appearances, and the Proctor girls basketball team to a record of 73-17 and the program's first state championship in 1984. Wade then went on to coach his sons Timothy and Terry at Otter Valley and served as assistant coach in the Twin State Baseball Classic games from 1984 to 1986. He also coached the Rutland Post 31 and Proctor Post 6 baseball teams.
After he retired from coaching, Wade spent his time supporting his sons and granddaughters in their individual endeavors and continued to follow local high school sports teams. He eventually came out of retirement in 2008 to coach his granddaughter Jordan's middle school basketball team at Otter Valley for two years to a record of 32-4. He also enjoyed tending to his garden, watching the Red Sox, spending time with his family, catching up and sharing memories with his friends and countless former players, supporting his granddaughter Jordan's basketball career, and bragging about his sons and granddaughters to anyone who would listen.
Wade spent his final weekend attending his granddaughter Megan's wedding surrounded by friends and family. He could not have been more proud the entire weekend and was quoted saying, "how could any man go through life without having granddaughters?"
Wade was predeceased by his parents, brother Steven Mitchell, sister Kerry Miller, and his son Todd Mitchell. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Anna Mitchell of Pittsford, VT; son Timothy Mitchell and partner Wanda Bushey of Pittsford, VT; son Terry Mitchell and wife Molly of Sudbury, VT; granddaughters Megan Rienzi (Mitchell) of South Salem, NY, and Jordan Mitchell of Boston, MA; and a host of loving siblings, extended family, and friends.
In remembrance of Wade's life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to Proctor High School - Wade Mitchell - Athletics; or Otter Valley Baseball, care of Otter Valley Athletics Association, with "Wade Mitchell" in the memorandum.
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