On March 18, 1963, he found new work as a flight dispatcher with United Airlines, a job he would do for 40 years. He continued working in Washington for a time, and then he was transferred to San Francisco. It was there that he met Debra Jean Schoelerman, who was also working in the flight dispatch office. In those early years, they’d travel. They loved the beaches in Hawaii and skiing in the mountains. They were married on August 5, 1979.

In 1981, their first child, Matthew, was born. Mitch was transferred to Chicago, his first day was on Matthew’s 1st birthday. The young family soon bought a house in Arlington Heights on Walnut Avenue, a neighborhood they would call home for four decades.

In 1984 their second child, Gregory, was born, and a third brother, Kevin, was born in 1987. Mitch loved his boys. He’d watch from the edge of his seat at every basketball game, laugh along with the Muppets and Sesame Street, and was always there with a word of support and encouragement.

While Debbie worked part time at United and full time taking care of the kids, Mitch worked a steady stream of rotating shifts in United’s flight dispatcher office, where they met many dear lifetime friends.

In the summers, Mitch and Debbie would take the family on road trips, traversing the country from Washington, DC to California, from Appalachia to the Pacific Northwest, from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Grand Canyon, from Florida to the Black Hills, usually with Paul Simon’s “Graceland” album sound tracking the journey. Back at home, he often had a stack of thick history books on the table by his chair. He had a special interest in the Civil War, perhaps because it took place so close to where he grew up. When not reading, he could often be found watching a classic Western movie or a slapstick comedy, or the Chicago Cubs on WGN, with Harry Carey’s voice drifting through the house, or being pessimistic about the chances of Jordan’s Bulls on their way to their next championship.

He was full of aphorisms for his sons. When we’d be stressed about something, he’d say, “Take it easy, greasy. You’ve got a long way to slide.” When we’d say something ridiculous, he’d shake his head and say, “Boy ain’t right.” And when we fought with each other, he’d take us aside, look us in the eye, and say, “Your brothers are the best friends you’ll ever have.”

In 2003, he retired from United. He took a part-time job as a security guard at St. Peter Lutheran Church and School, where his boys had gone to school and where his family had been members for many years. He became known as “Mr. Mitch,” greeting young families as they dropped their kids off for preschool or kindergarten. This job put such a smile on his face in those early years of retirement.

As his kids got married, he welcomed his daughters-in-law, Chris, Stephanie, and Michelle, into the family, and he’d often have a wry word and lots of laughter with them. When his grandkids were born - Cooper, Carter, and Penny, Sierra and Maya - he became a proud grandfather, or “Papaw,” as he preferred to be called. He even put “Papaw” on his license plate.

In the last years of his life, he began to be plagued with memory loss, and it was increasingly painful to him to not be able to remember things. His health took a turn over the last year. On December 7, 2020, he squeezed a hand and breathed his last. We are grateful he is at peace. But we will miss him so deeply.

He was preceded in death by his father, Raymond Dexter Keadle, and his mother, Eva Ruth Keadle, and his sister, Mary Sue Fullen, and his brother, who passed just a month before, William Keadle. He is survived by his wife, Debra Keadle, his sons, Matthew Craig Keadle (Christina), Gregory Dexter Keadle (Stephanie), and Kevin Mitchell Keadle (Michelle), and his grandchildren, Cooper Jordan Keadle, Carter Dexter Keadle, Penelope Hope Keadle, Sierra June Keadle, and Maya Eva Keadle, and many, many other family members and friends.

Funeral service and interment are private. Livestream of private service 4:00 pm, Friday, December 11, 2020. Please click on the link below or visit: https://live.fulllifeinchrist.org.