Elden R. Mitchell

Elden R. Mitchell died at his home in South Jordan, Utah on December 6, 2019 at the age of 72.

Elden is survived by his wife, Jimena; his brother, Gary; his children, Alice, Jonas (Kimberly), Nayi, Natalie (Tony Krezel), and Andrew; his grandchildren, Ben, Mitchell (Sydney), Cassandra, Conner, Tino, and Andrew Jr.; numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews; and lots of furry children and grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, Morgan and Alice; his brother, Theron; his sister, Wanda Wilder; and lots of furry children and grandchildren.

Elden was born on April 11, 1947 in Preston, Idaho to Alice and Morgan and grew up in Vale, Oregon. Elden was his high-school valedictorian and was the first in his family to graduate from college and went on to complete graduate school. He served an LDS mission in Central America where he made many lifelong friends, including Mario Gho, who would later introduce Elden to his wife, making Mario his brother-in-law. He married Jime on April 18, 1973. After graduating from Brigham Young University with a Masters in Business Administration, Elden went on to lead numerous successful companies, eventually purchasing his own family business in 2003.

Elden enjoyed traveling and had the unique ability to blend in with the residents of in nearly every place he visited; it was probably because of his openness and genuine curiosity for people and places, and their history. When not traveling, he was always reading about history, science and far off places. At the same time, Elden always came back to his farming roots; he was probably the only one in his urban or suburban neighborhoods who valued a natural water-right and was genuinely interested in the ability to irrigate his property. His accent changed when he visited home and he could whistle louder than nearly everyone. He loved a good state fair, complete with a rodeo. Elden liked to work with his hands and his shop was always filled with the remnants of his many projects, some of which he even finished. Given any opportunity, Elden could be found outside hiking and camping. He collected interesting pieces of wood and pretty rocks. He had a never-ending appreciation of nature, and valued a sense of stewardship for the earth.

Elden always felt that his family and friends represented his greatest accomplishments; something that he expressed openly and often.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 12 at 11:00 a.m. at the Country Park 4th Ward, 11251 South 2700 West, South Jordan, with a viewing from 10-10:45 a.m. prior to the services at the church. Interment to follow at the South Jordan City Cemetery.