Nancy Howell Mitchell, formerly Nancy Pitt Howell, age 68, passed away Sunday, October 6, 2019. She was a native of Hartselle, AL and a resident of Tuscaloosa. She was preceded in death by her husband, William Eason Mitchell, her father, Ray Nance Howell, Jr., and her brother, Robert Howell. She is lovingly remembered by her children, Ashley Patterson (Josh), Bart Patterson (Jehan), and Megan Johnson (Matthew); her step-children Alli Mitchell and Susan Mitchell; her grandchildren Madelyn and Isabelle Geller, Aleena Patterson, William Walker and Hudson Johnson; her mother, Dolly Howell; and her brothers Ray Nance Howell III and Jon Howell.
Mrs. Mitchell graduated valedictorian of her 1969 Morgan County High School class. She attended the University of Alabama, graduating in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science, and she graduated Magna Cum Laude and first in her class from Cumberland School of Law in 1975.
She was an attorney admitted to the Alabama State Bar and New York State Bar Association, practicing within the legal departments of American Telephone & Telegraph, General Foods, Garden Way, and BellSouth. During her times there, she served on the Board of Directors of Garden Way and as General Attorney of BellSouth. She also clerked for the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court and served as guardian ad litem before the Juvenile Court in Tuscaloosa County.
Mrs. Mitchell was also the founder and co-chair of the Multiple Sclerosis Self-Help Group in Tuscaloosa. She was named Self Help Group Leader of the Year by the Alabama Multiple Sclerosis Society in 2002.
Mrs. Mitchell had a calm, generous spirit which she used to encourage, support, and comfort others. She possessed a singularly deep well of strength, inspiring her friends and loved ones and lending them strength whenever it was needed. She was an avid reader, a lover of great music, and a devoted fan of Alabama football. Her children and grandchildren will remember her sitting in her favorite chair, adorned in crimson, cheering on the Tide, with a good book and her piebald miniature dachshund, Baby Cheeks, at her side.
Visitation will be held at First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa on Thursday, October 10 at 1pm, followed by a memorial service at 2pm. Burial will be held the following day, Friday, October 11th at Hartselle City Cemetery in Hartselle, AL, at 11 am.
In lieu of flowers, family ask that donations be made to the Alabama-Mississippi chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society or Hospice of West Alabama (3851 Loop Rd, Tuscaloosa, AL 35404).
Peck Funeral Home
