Herbert Mitchell<br/>July 25, 1929 - September 25, 2014

Herb Mitchell passed away peacefully on September 25, 2014 in Naples, FL. Born on July 25, 1929 in Elkhart, IN to Charles and Beulah Mae Mitchell. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Roberta, and children Robert, Debra, Kimbra and Melissa, as well 13 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter Candi, his parents, a sister and a brother.

Herb was a graduate of Iowa State University, where he studied horticulture and accounting. After spending nearly 17 years in Dayton, Ohio, he and his family moved to Newport Beach, California in 1967 where he and his wife resided for more than 30 years. He retired to Florida in 2002.

Herb spent nearly all of his professional life as a Marketing Executive for various firms, including Teleflora, The John Henry Company and Jackson and Perkins Roses. A Certified Management Consultant, Herb founded and ran his own consulting firm in Newport Beach California for more than 20 years. Herb was a nationally-recognized floral designer who was part of the team that decorated the White House for the Bicentennial and designed the flowers for Trisha Nixon’s wedding. Herb was the recipient of many distinguished awards. He was a President of AIFD (The American Institute of Floral Designers), a two-time Judge of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and Inducted into the Floriculture Hall of Fame in 1984.

Some of Herb’s proudest accomplishments included teaching adult education classes and leading small group ministries for men and married couples, for more than 30 years through his local churches. He was also an accomplished abstract painter.

A celebration of Herb’s life will be held on Saturday, October 18th at 2:00pm at Center Point Community Church, 6590 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples FL 34105. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Herb’s memory, to the AIFD Foundation (aifdfoundation.org) or Young Life (younglife.org).