Carolyn Maxine (Oden) Mitchell

After a long life filled with selfless service, humor, hard work and generosity, Carolyn Maxine Oden Mitchell passed away at home in Grants Pass, Oregon on June 12, 2026, surrounded by loved ones.

Carolyn was born to Juanita Maxine Lacy and Lester Leroy Oden on November 7, 1938, in Bedford, Illinois, the middle of 3 children. She spent her childhood in Nyssa, Oregon where she met Fredrick Nathaniel Mitchell. They were married on December 16, 1955, in Caldwell, Idaho. June 28, 1997, they were sealed for time and all eternity in the Portland Oregon temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Fred and Carolyn settled with their four children in Pilot Rock, Oregon where they opened a restaurant, Fowl Cooking. Carolyn spent her days as the secretary at the high school for 28 years and her evenings alongside Fred at the restaurant. They retired to Cathlamet, Washington and then eventually to Grants Pass, Oregon.

A perpetual optimist, she was always in a good mood and made a game out of any bad situation. She was soft most of the time, stubborn when necessary, and had everyone thinking they were secretly her favorite. She was the first to jump in and help, quick to forgive and forget and didn’t mind telling you when she thought you needed to go to charm school.

She loved travel, bubble baths, a well-kept yard, Diet Pepsi, desserts, and hunting for depression glass at yard sales with Fred. She loved opera and had a beautiful singing voice; for her grandchildren, the best seat in church was right next to her, sorting through the contents of her purse and listening to her sing the hymns.

A caretaker by nature, she could whip up a plate of brown sugar spaghetti at a moment’s notice, ran the laundry like her reputation depended on it, and devoted decades to caring for her parents in their later years. She always made time for the people she loved, and she loved a lot of people.

Upon her passing she was reunited with her husband of 64 years, her parents, her brother Laurance, and her great-granddaughter, Macy. She is remembered and missed by her children, Jon (Mindy Lybecker), Jan (Mike McDermott), Jill (Stan Bagley) and Don (Sharon Prock), and 106 grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great children and their spouses, and her sister Marilyn Morris. We love you Gerty. God be with you ‘til we meet again.

Graveside service will be Saturday, June 27, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. at the Pilot Rock Cemetery.