Curtistine Holland Mitchell of Mound Bayou, Mississippi
August 30, 1948 – July 21, 2019
Reflections of Life’s Journey August 30, 1948, happened to have fallen on a Monday. While the Black Panther Party’s activist, Fred Hampton, was being born in Summit, Illinois, Len Holland, Sr. and Rosie Lee Holland of Glendora, Mississippi were rejoicing over the birth of their new baby girl, whom they named Curtistine. She was the “baby” of three children born to Len and Rosie Lee. At the tender age of three, she lost her mother, however her grandparents, Charlie and Fannie Washington, stepped right in and provided “Stine” and her siblings with a home filled with love. Once the family had arrived in Mound Bayou, Curtistine attended the Henrietta Clegg PreSchool, and beginning in first grade, she attended what was then known as Mound Bayou High School, which educated grades one through twelve. In 1967, she graduated from John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. Following graduation, she moved to Chicago, staying there until 1971. Returning back home to Mound Bayou, she began working at the Taborian Hospital. Until 1975, she attended Clarksdale Public Nursing School, Clarksdale, MS. She would go on to begin work at Baxter’s as a quality control checker. She held various responsibilities at Baxter’s in different departments, specifically, as a quality control technician. On August 30, 2010, she retired from Baxter’s and found much fun and pleasure in traveling with her beloved, Calvin, until his health failed. True to her calling, she devoted her life to taking care of him until his transition. Curtistine gave her life to Christ at the First Baptist Church in Mound Bayou under the pastoralship of Rev. L. J. Jordan, Jr., and received the holy baptism in April 1958. She remained a continuous member of First Baptist all of her life, where she involved herself in various organizations and ministries such as the Usher Board, the Missionary Society, Vacation Bible School teacher, chairing the Kitchen Committee and serving as the chief decorator for the church. In 2017 and 2018, she expended countless hours and traveled many miles to get decorations for the Bolivar County Baptist Association Congress of Christian Education’s Scholarship Awards Banquet. She took the utmost pride in her work and ensured that everything was washed and properly placed, even if it meant working late into the night and doing it by herself. She held membership in many social and civic organizations, as the Heroines of Jericho, the Mound Bayou Civic Club, Inc., the Mound Bayou ReCon League (Life Member) and Baxter’s Relay for Life. Her favorite pastimes included working in her yard, shopping, gardening and traveling. One of her most memorable events was cruising to Mexico in 2004 with her friend, the late Celia Howard. Also, she loved putting together jigsaw puzzles. Nothing gave her greater joy than to complete a large, beautiful butterfly puzzle that had thousands of pieces and mounting it so that she could give it as a gift to her daughter, Mickey. .According to legend, the birthday numbers of 8, 30, and 1948 revealed that Curtistine’s life path number was 6, which represents justice, nurturing and responsibility. Further, it stated that she possessed great compassion and sought to be of service to others. The birth flower for August 30, 1948, was the poppy which stood for preparedness. Anyone blessed to know Stine can attest to the accuracy of this statement. Any task undertaken, she fulfilled with all of her might and with perfection. She was blessed with the gift of artistic talents and enjoyed crafts, decorating, sewing, etc. True to her birth flower, the poppy, she prepared well in advance of any undertaking, especially when it came to decorating the L. J. Jordan, Jr. Fellowship Hall for funeral repasts and other special occasions. On June 23, 2007, Curtistine and her soul mate, Calvin C. Mitchell, Jr., were united in holy matrimony in a moving ceremony at the First Baptist Church, with Pastor Earl V. Hall, Sr., serving as the officiant. In 2018, she learned that she had developed an illness, however undaunted, courageous and with a strong, abiding faith in God, she began preparation for her Heavenly home. Being the proactive person that she was, she ensured that all of her business affairs were in order long before she left this earthly home. Stine is now resting in sweet peace with her parents, Len and Rosie Lee Holland; grandparents, Charlie and Fannie Washington; brother, Charlie Holland; sister, Mildred Holland Banks; and brother, Rommel Sinclair, Sr. Curtistine leaves her legacy of love to her children: son, Lenanza A. (Tracy) Holland of Lynwood, IL; daughters, Sabrina Michelle (Jerry) Starks of Argyle, TX, and Natalie N.(Carlos) Jefferson of Memphis, TN.; a special son, Justin Joshua Mitchell of Kapolei, HI; Calvin (Teresa) Poston of Indianapolis, IN; Brian (Hope) Mitchell of Beaver Creek, OH; Christopher Mitchell of Indianapolis, IN; Nedra (Leroy) Wade of Gary, IN; Tyra (Anthony) Payton of Indianapolis, IN; and Brandi (Jason) Rucker of Evansville, IN; Also, she leaves her brothers: Linanza (Stephanie) Holland, Jr. ; Andre’ (Diamond) Holland; Theo Holland, Reginald Holland; Dwuane Berry; Antonia (Beverly) Halsey; Marcus (Anita) Halsey; Dowan (Geturyurin) Halsey ; Keith (Gloria) Halsey; Calvin (Yvette) Shavers ; all of Chicago, IL; and her sisters: Cassandra (Percy) Green ; Debra Holland, Edna H. Hamilton, Shelia (James) Perkins ; Lolita (Anthony) Travis and Jacqueline (Alonzo) Sanders, all of Chicago, IL, also, six sisters-in-law, Clara (Charlie*) Holland , Montre (Phillip*) Moore , Vanessa (Walter) Little , Cynthia (Jerone) Grisby, Linda Asim Hentson (LJ) and Valerie (Alonzo) Davis; three brothers-in-law, Charles (Mance “Cookie”) Mitchell* , Percy (Carmelita) Mitchell and Ray A. (Edwina) Mitchell. In addition, she leaves a special nephew, Rommell (Alisa) Sinclair, Jr. of Blythewood, SC. Over the course of her life, Curtistine met and cultivated enduring and endearing friendships that she leaves behind. Two of those who touched her life in such a special way were Walter Gooden and Anne Jackson, both of Chicago, IL. Curtistine leaves many grandchildren, whom she loved dearly and unconditionally, six of whom are: Tiara Holland, Taeko-Nesha Holland, Shabreea Holland, Oksana Holland, Jaylyn Holland and Carlos Jefferson, Jr. She also leaves two aunts, Teva Dunlap of Saginaw, MI and Christine James of Chicago; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, dear friends and the beloved First Baptist Church family.
