Joseph C. Mitchell (1948–2019): Herpetologist and Natural Historian of the Old Dominion

Abstract

I N the prologue of his Virginia: A History of the People, Cooke (1883: 479) wrote of the people of the Old Dominion, as the Commonwealth of Virginia is affectionately known, and their ‘‘cordial instincts, and spirit of courtesy and hospitality. . .’’ The following year, in an essay written for Macmillan’s Magazine, Bradley (1884: 432), an English expatriate who lived for a time in Virginia, wrote from his experience that the so-called Virginian ‘‘is very fond and proud of his own State. . . Wherever he goes he is always a Virginian. . .’’ (this article, it should be noted, was soundly criticized by noted ichthyologist G. Brown Goode in his own discussion of the character of Virginians in the context of his genealogy; Goode, 1887). Indeed, the modern concept of the Virginia Gentleman traces its roots to the Colonial period of the United States of America, and conjures individuals that seek ‘‘to attain qualities of fortitude, temperance, prudence, justice, liberality, and courtesy’’ (Watson, 2019). Although there is much to this concept (and not all flattering, having been associated with the history of slavery during the antebellum era; Watson, 2019), the term does evoke a certain notion of nobility and gentility. All of the aforementioned traits describing the romanticized concept of a Virginian were embodied in Joe Mitchell, who demonstrated the traits of generosity and courtesy, and pride in his home state of Virginia. Joe’s life was tragically cut short on July 2, 2019 in a traffic accident while he was attempting to recover an item that had blown from the back of his truck. However, Joe’s legacy will live on and, based on the eulogies offered by colleagues and friends through emails, social media, the Northeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (NEPARC, New Jersey), Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA, Arizona), and at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) that took place in Snowbird, Utah not three weeks following his death (and that he was looking forward to attending), it is clear that Joe was a Virginia gentleman and touched the lives of many herpetologists, natural historians, and friends through his quiet, courteous demeanor. Joseph Calvin Mitchell was born August 16, 1948 to Calvin and Kathleen Mitchell (Fig. 1) in Bedford, Virginia, near Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains (many details of Joe’s life that are recounted in this obituary, and all quotes from Joe, come from Joe’s autobiography; Mitchell, 2019). He had a sister, Susan Johnson, and two brothers, Ronnie and Allen Mitchell. Joe was a loving father to his four children, Tanya Shewmake (with his first wife Virginia Talley), Joshua, Justin, and Lisa Mitchell (with his second wife Wendy Hoilman), and his grandchildren, Allison and James Shewmake (Fig. 2). Joe married Susan Walls (Fig. 3), a herpetologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Gainesville, Florida, in 2006. It was after Joe and Susan were married that he moved from his home in Richmond, Virginia to High Springs, Florida, and they began life together with their menagerie of four dogs, two cats, four red-footed tortoises, snakes, and box turtles. Fig. 1. Joe Mitchell as a small child, with his mother, Kathleen, and father, Calvin Mitchell.