Mitchell Bunker Smith, of Valona, Georgia, died Friday, October 4, 2019. He is survived by his beautiful children, Ben Smith (15) and Jack Smith (15), of Darien, Georgia, and Holden Smith (9) of Atlanta, Georgia.
Born with a sense of adventure in Anchorage, Alaska, and reared in Pike County, Georgia, Mitchell spent most of his adult life on the coast of Georgia, son to Sherron Smith and Tommy Smith (deceased) and brother to Kate Venugopal of Oakland, California. Mitchell’s big heart and love for life was shared with and felt by many, and his natural love for people gave him a unique zeal for others. He loved his children above all else. Mitchell was generous. He was loving. He was compassionate. He was adventurous. He was gentle. And for most of his life, he had very sound instincts.
Growing up in Pike County, he stretched his legs long in Georgia’s piedmont, where he was active in scouts, earning the rank of Eagle Scout, and formed lasting friendships. He attended Athens Y Camp the summers of his youth. In his teen years, he was an avid kayaker and outdoorsman, with a love and respect for nature.
In high school, Mitchell dabbled in sports, but was never much the competitive type. He probably would have preferred just hanging out and getting to know the guys on the other team rather than competing with them on a court or a field. Also, while in high school on the Georgia coast, Mitchell’s love for nature and the outdoors led him to become a better fisherman and boatman.
He attended the University of Georgia, in Athens, where he built lasting friendships, pursued endless adventure, and in the process earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Economics and Management. During his college years, he returned to Alaska for a summer job to reconnect with his roots, hiking tall mountains, paddling big rivers, experiencing the northern lights for his first time, and at the end of that summer dipping into the freezing glacial waters of the Kenai with his sister and father then building a fire to warm up in a rustic sweat lodge.
Mitchell was a people person, through and through; he loved his friends. In college, he organized memorable trips to share the Georgia coast that he loved – winter solstice beach campouts on Sapelo Island and canoe trips down the Suwannee River.
After college, he pursued jobs in renewable energy and environmental management and found time to squeeze in flying lessons, having always been fascinated by flight. He had a chapter traveling the country erecting data transmission towers for possible wind farm sites. Another chapter was spent working in solar panel manufacturing. He started and ran his own erosion control company for several years.
Mitchell championed the shrimping industry in McIntosh County, Georgia. He wanted to help propel the product of sweet Georgia shrimp and the people who brought it to the shores into the prominence he thought they deserved. He had big ideas. He started with a truck, and grew a small-scale distribution company, sharing his passion for shrimp at farmers markets and restaurants across Macon and Atlanta. He never stopped thinking of ways to strengthen the supply chain.
For Mitchell, metrics for success were found in discovery: a turtle shell, a feather, a labradorite stone, a deliciously prepared meal (one he had prepared himself), the view of the marsh from his front steps, or the view from a mountain top on a hike. His richest discovery was the joy he found in his amazing children – on his road less traveled.
Mitchell will be remembered when the breeze blows strong and his love for his children will follow them every day for the rest of their lives.
There will be a gathering at Mitchell’s house in Valona on Friday, October 11. Drop in from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
There will be a formal memorial service in November in Pike County, Georgia. More details to come.
Friends my sign the online guest book at www.foxandweeks.com.
Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors, Hodgson Chapel, of Savannah is in charge of arrangements.
Born with a sense of adventure in Anchorage, Alaska, and reared in Pike County, Georgia, Mitchell spent most of his adult life on the coast of Georgia, son to Sherron Smith and Tommy Smith (deceased) and brother to Kate Venugopal of Oakland, California. Mitchell’s big heart and love for life was shared with and felt by many, and his natural love for people gave him a unique zeal for others. He loved his children above all else. Mitchell was generous. He was loving. He was compassionate. He was adventurous. He was gentle. And for most of his life, he had very sound instincts.
Growing up in Pike County, he stretched his legs long in Georgia’s piedmont, where he was active in scouts, earning the rank of Eagle Scout, and formed lasting friendships. He attended Athens Y Camp the summers of his youth. In his teen years, he was an avid kayaker and outdoorsman, with a love and respect for nature.
In high school, Mitchell dabbled in sports, but was never much the competitive type. He probably would have preferred just hanging out and getting to know the guys on the other team rather than competing with them on a court or a field. Also, while in high school on the Georgia coast, Mitchell’s love for nature and the outdoors led him to become a better fisherman and boatman.
He attended the University of Georgia, in Athens, where he built lasting friendships, pursued endless adventure, and in the process earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Economics and Management. During his college years, he returned to Alaska for a summer job to reconnect with his roots, hiking tall mountains, paddling big rivers, experiencing the northern lights for his first time, and at the end of that summer dipping into the freezing glacial waters of the Kenai with his sister and father then building a fire to warm up in a rustic sweat lodge.
Mitchell was a people person, through and through; he loved his friends. In college, he organized memorable trips to share the Georgia coast that he loved – winter solstice beach campouts on Sapelo Island and canoe trips down the Suwannee River.
After college, he pursued jobs in renewable energy and environmental management and found time to squeeze in flying lessons, having always been fascinated by flight. He had a chapter traveling the country erecting data transmission towers for possible wind farm sites. Another chapter was spent working in solar panel manufacturing. He started and ran his own erosion control company for several years.
Mitchell championed the shrimping industry in McIntosh County, Georgia. He wanted to help propel the product of sweet Georgia shrimp and the people who brought it to the shores into the prominence he thought they deserved. He had big ideas. He started with a truck, and grew a small-scale distribution company, sharing his passion for shrimp at farmers markets and restaurants across Macon and Atlanta. He never stopped thinking of ways to strengthen the supply chain.
For Mitchell, metrics for success were found in discovery: a turtle shell, a feather, a labradorite stone, a deliciously prepared meal (one he had prepared himself), the view of the marsh from his front steps, or the view from a mountain top on a hike. His richest discovery was the joy he found in his amazing children – on his road less traveled.
Mitchell will be remembered when the breeze blows strong and his love for his children will follow them every day for the rest of their lives.
There will be a gathering at Mitchell’s house in Valona on Friday, October 11. Drop in from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
There will be a formal memorial service in November in Pike County, Georgia. More details to come.
Friends my sign the online guest book at www.foxandweeks.com.
Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors, Hodgson Chapel, of Savannah is in charge of arrangements.
Mitchell Bunker Smith, of Valona, Georgia, died Friday, October 4, 2019. He is survived by his beautiful children, Ben Smith (15) and Jack Smith (15), of Darien, Georgia, and Holden Smith (9) of Atlanta, Georgia.
Born with a sense of adventure in Anchorage, Alaska, and reared in Pike County, Georgia, Mitchell spent most of his adult life on the coast of Georgia, son to Sherron Smith and Tommy Smith (deceased) and brother to Kate Venugopal of Oakland, California. Mitchell’s big heart and love for life was shared with and felt by many, and his natural love for people gave him a unique zeal for others. He loved his children above all else. Mitchell was generous. He was loving. He was compassionate. He was adventurous. He was gentle. And for most of his life, he had very sound instincts.
Growing up in Pike County, he stretched his legs long in Georgia’s piedmont, where he was active in scouts, earning the rank of Eagle Scout, and formed lasting friendships. He attended Athens Y Camp the summers of his youth. In his teen years, he was an avid kayaker and outdoorsman, with a love and respect for nature.
In high school, Mitchell dabbled in sports, but was never much the competitive type. He probably would have preferred just hanging out and getting to know the guys on the other team rather than competing with them on a court or a field. Also, while in high school on the Georgia coast, Mitchell’s love for nature and the outdoors led him to become a better fisherman and boatman.
He attended the University of Georgia, in Athens, where he built lasting friendships, pursued endless adventure, and in the process earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Economics and Management. During his college years, he returned to Alaska for a summer job to reconnect with his roots, hiking tall mountains, paddling big rivers, experiencing the northern lights for his first time, and at the end of that summer dipping into the freezing glacial waters of the Kenai with his sister and father then building a fire to warm up in a rustic sweat lodge.
Mitchell was a people person, through and through; he loved his friends. In college, he organized memorable trips to share the Georgia coast that he loved – winter solstice beach campouts on Sapelo Island and canoe trips down the Suwannee River.
After college, he pursued jobs in renewable energy and environmental management and found time to squeeze in flying lessons, having always been fascinated by flight. He had a chapter traveling the country erecting data transmission towers for possible wind farm sites. Another chapter was spent working in solar panel manufacturing. He started and ran his own erosion control company for several years.
Mitchell championed the shrimping industry in McIntosh County, Georgia. He wanted to help propel the product of sweet Georgia shrimp and the people who brought it to the shores into the prominence he thought they deserved. He had big ideas. He started with a truck, and grew a small-scale distribution company, sharing his passion for shrimp at farmers markets and restaurants across Macon and Atlanta. He never stopped thinking of ways to strengthen the supply chain.
For Mitchell, metrics for success were found in discovery: a turtle shell, a feather, a labradorite stone, a deliciously prepared meal (one he had prepared himself), the view of the marsh from his front steps, or the view from a mountain top on a hike. His richest discovery was the joy he found in his amazing children – on his road less traveled.
Mitchell will be remembered when the breeze blows strong and his love for his children will follow them every day for the rest of their lives.
There will be a gathering at Mitchell’s house in Valona on Friday, October 11. Drop in from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
There will be a formal memorial service in November in Pike County, Georgia. More details to come.
Friends my sign the online guest book at www.foxandweeks.com.
Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors, Hodgson Chapel, of Savannah is in charge of arrangements.
Born with a sense of adventure in Anchorage, Alaska, and reared in Pike County, Georgia, Mitchell spent most of his adult life on the coast of Georgia, son to Sherron Smith and Tommy Smith (deceased) and brother to Kate Venugopal of Oakland, California. Mitchell’s big heart and love for life was shared with and felt by many, and his natural love for people gave him a unique zeal for others. He loved his children above all else. Mitchell was generous. He was loving. He was compassionate. He was adventurous. He was gentle. And for most of his life, he had very sound instincts.
Growing up in Pike County, he stretched his legs long in Georgia’s piedmont, where he was active in scouts, earning the rank of Eagle Scout, and formed lasting friendships. He attended Athens Y Camp the summers of his youth. In his teen years, he was an avid kayaker and outdoorsman, with a love and respect for nature.
In high school, Mitchell dabbled in sports, but was never much the competitive type. He probably would have preferred just hanging out and getting to know the guys on the other team rather than competing with them on a court or a field. Also, while in high school on the Georgia coast, Mitchell’s love for nature and the outdoors led him to become a better fisherman and boatman.
He attended the University of Georgia, in Athens, where he built lasting friendships, pursued endless adventure, and in the process earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Economics and Management. During his college years, he returned to Alaska for a summer job to reconnect with his roots, hiking tall mountains, paddling big rivers, experiencing the northern lights for his first time, and at the end of that summer dipping into the freezing glacial waters of the Kenai with his sister and father then building a fire to warm up in a rustic sweat lodge.
Mitchell was a people person, through and through; he loved his friends. In college, he organized memorable trips to share the Georgia coast that he loved – winter solstice beach campouts on Sapelo Island and canoe trips down the Suwannee River.
After college, he pursued jobs in renewable energy and environmental management and found time to squeeze in flying lessons, having always been fascinated by flight. He had a chapter traveling the country erecting data transmission towers for possible wind farm sites. Another chapter was spent working in solar panel manufacturing. He started and ran his own erosion control company for several years.
Mitchell championed the shrimping industry in McIntosh County, Georgia. He wanted to help propel the product of sweet Georgia shrimp and the people who brought it to the shores into the prominence he thought they deserved. He had big ideas. He started with a truck, and grew a small-scale distribution company, sharing his passion for shrimp at farmers markets and restaurants across Macon and Atlanta. He never stopped thinking of ways to strengthen the supply chain.
For Mitchell, metrics for success were found in discovery: a turtle shell, a feather, a labradorite stone, a deliciously prepared meal (one he had prepared himself), the view of the marsh from his front steps, or the view from a mountain top on a hike. His richest discovery was the joy he found in his amazing children – on his road less traveled.
Mitchell will be remembered when the breeze blows strong and his love for his children will follow them every day for the rest of their lives.
There will be a gathering at Mitchell’s house in Valona on Friday, October 11. Drop in from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
There will be a formal memorial service in November in Pike County, Georgia. More details to come.
Friends my sign the online guest book at www.foxandweeks.com.
Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors, Hodgson Chapel, of Savannah is in charge of arrangements.
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