Jay F. Mitchell

Memorial services for Jay F. Mitchell, age 97, of Norfolk, Nebraska will be 10:30 a.m. February 20, 2026, at Home for Funerals Chapel, 708 Georgia Avenue in Norfolk. Chaplain Melissa Temple will officiate.

Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.

Home for Funerals in Norfolk is in charge of arrangements.

Jay died Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at his residence.

Jay Frank Mitchell, son of Joseph and Anna (Jorgensen) Mitchell, was born December 18, 1928, in Parsippany, NJ. Jay attended Parsippany Grammar School. In his younger years, he plowed victory gardens for neighbors and also worked as a gas station mechanic in Parsippany.

Life then took Jay to Caldwell, NJ. He worked at Curtiss-Wright Propellers welding propellers for war planes used in World War II. Jay moved on to work as a toolmaker. Toolmaking took him from New Jersey to Pennsylvania and New York. Jay then became a shoe repair machinist in Auburn, ME. He later moved to Florida and worked as a car mechanic for Goodyear in DeLand.

While living in DeLand, Jay began working at Sherwood Medical as a mechanical engineer. He would repair machines that manufactured syringe needles for medical use. His employment took him to several places throughout the country. This included Norfolk, NE, Commerce, TX, Waterbury, CT, and St. Joseph, MO. He was also able to travel to Northern Ireland, Belgium, Japan, and France. His work at Sherwood Medical led him to invent a needle-production machine, which he later patented.

Jay married Patsy Schaefer on December 27, 1947, in Parsippany, NJ. They were blessed with six children and later divorced.

While working in Norfolk, Jay met Judith (Halsey) Reeker, and they were united in marriage on September 18, 1980. This union expanded Jay’s family to include Judith’s three children. 

He is survived by his wife, Judith Mitchell of Norfolk, NE; children, Kathryn (Sonny) Henderson of Clermont, FL, James (Sandra) Mitchell of Cleveland, TN, Patricia Mitchell of Costa Rica, Janice (Tom) Senninger of Clermont, FL, and David (Julie) Mitchell of Lake Helen, FL; daughter-in-law, Vicki Mitchell of Silver Springs, FL; stepchildren, Bonita (Gary) Ramold of Norfolk, NE, Richard (Maxine) Reeker of Pierce, NE, and William (Krystal) Reeker of Elkhorn, NE; nine grandchildren; 10 step-grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; nine step-great-grandchildren and a namesake “Little Jay” due in June; and sister-in-law, Margaret Mitchell of DeBary, FL.

Jay was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Anna Mitchell; his former wife, Patsy; son, Jeffrey Mitchell; and brothers, Wilbur (Davine) Mitchell and John “Jack” Mitchell.

Memorials may be designated to the American Heart Association.

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