Mitchell Keith McDivitt

In Memory of Mitchell Keith McDivitt

“There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be”- The Beatles

At 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 18, 56-year old Mitchell Keith McDivitt, the most outspoken member of the McDivitt clan made his departure from this world. Son of Delores McDivitt and the late Jimmy Darrell McDivitt, Mitch was a man admired by his family. His smile, laugh, cynicism and humor (oftentimes one in the same) will be missed by us all. 

It is impossible to find the right words to fully convey the gravity of this loss, only to speak a bit about the kind of man he was and how he added to our dynamic as a family. 

While his last 10-months in this world were heavily impaired by medical issues, Mitch’s life was not defined by illness, but by the strength in which he chose to live. A wild thing- free and unrestricted- he lived out the years of his life carefree and away from the shadow of conformity; truly marching to the sound of his own beat.

For 37 years, until the day of his passing, Mitch remained dedicated to his wife, Donna. The two were high school sweethearts, but above all- they were best friends.

In the months before his illness took hold, and after the passing of his father, Mitch spent a great deal of his time focusing on his family, making every effort to travel from he and Donna’s Florida residence back to his hometown of Dyersburg, where he enjoyed spending his days at his mother’s side. A handy man by nature, there was nothing that ever broke in the McDivitt household that Mitch could not fix with one trip to the hardware store.

During his time at leisure, Mitch enjoyed spending time with he and Donna’s third child and beloved companion, a furry white shih tzu named Piggy.

A lover of science, space and music, Mitch passed his passions down generously to both of his children, Brian Keller and Anne Ladyem McDivitt. His influence and support in all of their endeavors, both great and small, will echo throughout both of their lives forever.

On September 30, 2017-as a tribute to his influence and inspiration-Mitch’s family had his name placed on the wall of honor at the Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex building of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

On Saturday, October 21, Curry’s Funeral Home in Dyersburg will host a casual visitation service in memory of Mitch. The McDivitt family will be receiving friends between the hours of 2-4 p.m.

Mitch was the proud father of Brian Keller and Anne Ladyem McDivitt; husband to Donna McDivitt; brother to John McDivitt, Richard McDivitt and Vicky McDivitt; brother-in-law to Lynn McDivitt; son of Delores and the late Jimmy Darrell McDivitt; brother-in-law to Vivian Forsythe, Adair Forsythe, and Brad Forsythe; uncle to Jessi Agee, Justin Townsend, Addie Bleed, and Rachel Townsend