- Date Of Birth: January 26, 1926
- Date Of Death: May 10, 2019
- State: Texas
Baudelia “Bedelia” Elizalde Mitchell, 93, of Boerne, passed away on May 10, 2019.
Baudelia Elizalde Mitchell, a longtime Boerne resident, was born on January 26, 1926 in Refugio, Texas to Pedro Elizalde and Adela Rodriguez Elizalde. She attended school in Refugio and met her husband, George C. Mitchell, while working in a drug store in Corpus Christi. After a brief courtship, George proposed to her. They married on September 9, 1943, just as George, having joined the U. S. Navy, was due to be shipped out during World War II. When they moved to Boerne, George and Baudelia opened Mitchell Cleaners, a drycleaning business, which they owned and operated until George’s retirement in the early 1990s. They sold that business and it is still in operation today. She lost her beloved George in September of 2001. They were married for 58 years.
George and Baudelia were prominent business and community leaders, “Unequaled by any other in this community,” as noted in the Boerne Star, April 10, 1969. They were the embodiment of the word “civic-mindedness.” Baudelia was a member of the Boerne Lioness Club, Kendall County HUD Board of Directors, Church Women United, and The Boerne Grange. She served as the local chairperson of the American Lung Association and as a Kendall County Elections Judge. She was a charter member of the Boerne Area Historical Preservation Society and the Los Bexarenos Genealogical and Historical Society de San Antonio. She was a member and past president of the Boerne Crusaders’ Club, as well as countless other organizations.
Baudelia worked for the Boerne ISD at Curington Elementary for 12 years as a teacher’s aide. She also served as a mentor for various students and gave private Spanish lessons to many in the Boerne area. She often gave presentations on Texas History to students in the Boerne school system and the Boerne Public Library beginning in the 1970’s. In 1971, The State of Texas awarded Baudelia the “Tops in Texas Award” for her volunteer and civic service in the community. she was proud of the fact that she was given the award by the child movie star, Shirley Temple Black. She was also an active member of St. Peter’s Catholic Church, serving on many committees including the Altar Society, the Guadalupanas and she taught catechism for years. She was a woman of deep faith and she firmly believed in the power of prayer and the Holy Rosary.
Baudelia was a ninth generation Texan and instilled that into her children and grandchildren. She urged her children to always be mindful that they were descendants of the original Spanish land grantees. For years she spent many hours per day researching her genealogy and that of her husband, George. In the era before the internet, Baudelia traveled all over Texas and Mexico to research birth and death records, deeds and land records to trace her family heritage. She was an active member of the Hispanic community, often lending her name and reputation to assist others. She was big hearted, opening her home to many in the Boerne community, and offering words and actions of support and faith to many in need. Baudelia loved her children and grandchildren deeply. She was the matriarch of her family and will be greatly missed. She loved her faith, her family, her community, her heritage, and last but not least, her red lipstick!
Baudelia is survived by three of her five children; Thomas P. Mitchell (Eva), J. David Mitchell, and Gabriella Mitchell Polito (Ralph); her daughter-in-law, Gloria Mitchell; her sister, Ida Elizalde Cabrera; her brother, Soloman Elizalde; her eleven grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren, and seven great great-grandchildren; the children of her beloved brother, Richard; and several great nieces, great nephews, and cousins.
Baudelia was preceded in death by her husband, George C. Mitchell; two of her children, Therese Mitchell Trevino and Rupert Vernon Mitchell; her brother, Richard Elizalde; and her parents, Pedro and Adela Elizalde.
The family would like to express their gratitude to all of the citizens of the Boerne community who have expressed their kind words thoughtfulness toward Mrs. Mitchell and her family. We could not have dealt with this difficult time in our family without all of their expressions of sympathy and anecdotes of our mother and grandmother’s love and support for those who lives she touched.
