John T. Mitchell

Lifetime Great Falls resident and real estate developer, John Theodore Jack Mitchell, 87, passed away peacefully at his Carlsbad, CA home on March 3 after a brief illness.Jack was born May 21, 1928 in Great Falls to Theodore and Nellie Mitchell, who had immigrated to the U.S. from Greece and Lebanon. As a young boy, Jack worked with his dad shearing sheep on their Milligan Route ranch. He graduated from Great Falls High School and The College of Great Falls. After serving in the US Air Force, he worked with his father at the family business, Pacific Grocery, in downtown Great Falls.In 1950 Jack married Carol Schrader and they were blessed with two children, Marie and Ted. They were later divorced.In 1957, with his father and his partner Don Robinson, Jack began development of Holiday Village Shopping Center, which was expanded multiple times and eventually became the first enclosed shopping mall in the state of Montana. He and his father sold the mall to Macerich in 1979. They also developed the Holiday Village shopping center in Missoula and various other properties. He was a partner in The Village Bank in Great Falls.Jack and partner Demar Taylor owned and operated two large ranches in northern British Columbia in the 1980's.Jack and his son Ted developed the Iron Works Square and Old Milwaukee Station properties in Great Falls, as well as commercial properties in Salt Lake City. More recently, they developed the Federal Courthouse in Great Falls and have been in the process of completing the Bozeman Gateway Complex. He also developed the property that houses Jakers Restaurant and was a partner in the dining establishment with Jake Jones.On July 25, 1981 Jack married the love of his life, Colleen Williams. An accomplished pilot, he accumulated thousands of hours flying his Cessna 421 across the US. One such trip brought the couple to Palomar Airport, north of San Diego to have work done on the plane. They were so taken with the area that he bought a condo complex under construction alongside LaCosta Golf Course and completed its development. Jack and Colleen have maintained a home in Carlsbad ever since.In the mid 80's a real estate deal took Jack and Colleen to Baton Rouge, LA, where he eventually made several commercial investments and met partners and longtime friends Paul Voorhees, Jim Tanner and Don Joffrian. The couple also maintained a home in Baton Rouge.Jack never stopped working. He was perhaps happiest puttering around in his office seeking out new investments, or in the shop, detailing a car for sale or waxing his Prevost Motor Home. He was also an avid elk hunter and loved spending time at his cabin in the mountains east of Lincoln. In later years he enjoyed traveling with Colleen between their three homes, but he always came home to Montana, which he agreed was the Last Best Place. Jack was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Elaine Dupre, his granddaughter Katie (Mitchell) Davis and his grandson Nicolas Eldridge. He is survived by wife Colleen in Carlsbad, daughter Marie and son Ted, Great Falls, stepdaughters Carla Neiman, Plains and Tami Williams, Missoula, grandchildren Shawn, Evin and Ellen Mitchell, Bozeman, John Mitchell, Las Vegas NV, Audrey Williams, Medford OR, Bob Neiman, Plains and Andrew Eldridge, Missoula.A Memorial Service to celebrate Jack's life will be held on April 9th at 11:00 a.m. at St. Anne's Cathedral. The family suggests memorials to the American Cancer Society or Peace Hospice.