MITCHELL, Thomas Wesley, Jr.

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Thursday, May 26, 2010 Thomas Wesley Mitchell Jr., 90, of Prescott, Ariz., passed away on Friday, May 21, 2010. He was born on Sept. 15, 1919, in a farmhouse in Lincoln County, Okla. Prior to WWII, Tom served with the Civilian Conservation Corps and was stationed in Worland, Wyo., and in Silverton, Colo. In 1941, he joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard in Hawaii, where he was later responsible for setting up some of our nation's first working long-range radar systems. For his work in the Pacific Theatre, he was awarded the Bronze Star and other commendations. Following the war, Tom and his family settled in Worland, Wyo., where he operated an electrical contracting business and later developed the area's first cable television system. In the years following, he became nationally known as a "Cable Television Pioneer" in recognition of the many cable television systems across the nation, which he engineered and consulted on for a period of over 40 years. During his retirement, he lived in Martinez, Calif., Enterprise, Utah, and later in Prescott, Ariz., where he is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and his daughter-in-law, Kay Weaver, and son-in-law Gary Weaver. He is also survived by brother Bill Mitchell of Tecumseh, Okla., daughters Julie Mitchell and Mary Ruth Davis of Spokane, Wash., stepson Carl Cook of Nevada City, Calif., and numerous grandchildren and other family members. A memorial to celebrate Tom's life will be at 1 p.m. Friday, May 28, 2010, at the Hampton Funeral Home, 240 S. Cortez St., Prescott, Ariz. Please visit www.hamptonfuneralhome.com to sign Tom's guestbook. Hampton Funeral Home was entrusted with arrangements.