Elaine Mitchell-Shields

September 15, 2016

Elaine Mitchell-Shields, 74, of Bainbridge, Ga., passed away Thursday, September 15, 2016.

The funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 18, 2016, at Ivey Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Harold Burrell officiating. Interment will be Monday, September 19, 2016, 11 a.m. CST, at Auburn Memory Gardens in Auburn, Ala..

The family will receive friends from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 17, 2016, at Ivey Funeral Home. Online visitors may sign the guest register at www.iveyfuneral.com.

Memorial donations may be made to: Hospice of Southwest Georgia, 117 S. Donalson Street, Bainbridge, GA 39817 or American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.

Brenda Elaine Barrett was born April 15, 1942, in Opelika, Ala., the daughter of Burrell Lee Barrett and Margaret Louise Thornhill Barrett. Elaine moved from Auburn, to southwest GA in 1968 and has resided in this area ever since. She graduated from Auburn University and later earned an Education Specialist degree from Troy State University. She retired from Miller County Schools after 30 years of teaching. She was a member of Beta Sigma Phi in Colquitt. Elaine was a member of First Baptist Church in Bainbridge.

Elaine was a teacher through and through. She was driven by perfectionism and kept everything in order. She touched many lives during her career, and her students dearly loved her. She enjoyed shopping and was known as The Master Shopper. Elaine could decorate a cardboard box to look like something from Southern Living. Her favorite pastime, besides Auburn football, was spending time with her grandchildren, especially during holidays. One thing her children and grandchildren will remember is never being allowed to sit on the beds.

Survivors include her husband of 11 years, Rev. Tom Shields, her children, Chris Mitchell and Emily of Bristol, Fla., Mark Mitchell and his wife, Connie, of Bainbridge, Ga., Scott Mitchell and his wife, Kim, of Donalsonville, Ga., Todd Mitchell and his wife, Robin, of Ozark, Ala.; her step-children, Gwendy Watrous of Connecticut and Melody Shields of Oklahoma; her grandchildren, Stephen, Garrett, Madison, Ben, Brad, Josh, Hannah, Nathan, Morgan, and Hayden; her step-granchildren, Joshua and Zack; her step-great-grandchildren, Onyx Watrous and Naomi Watrous; and a special caregiver, April Barefield. Elaine was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Bobby Barrett.