When Rev. Marion and Betty Mitchell celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, their children hosted a celebration in their honor at Rock Springs Baptist Church.
  

        Rev. Marion and Betty Mitchell married in 1954, and their lifelong commitment is still going strong after more than half a century.
      The two met through Betty’s cousin, who was a close friend of Mitchell’s and whose sister was a close friend of Betty’s. They dated for a couple of years before he proposed.  
        The Mitchells’ three children, Miriam Leister (whose nickname is Sunshine), Gloria Powell, and Stephen Mitchell, have given them eight grandchildren. Miriam and her husband, Norman, have four children, Ticcoa, Jessica, Joshua, and Jordan. Gloria has two sons, Patrick and Mitchell, and a daughter, Amanda. Stephen and his wife, Trina, have a daughter, Kasey.
      The Mitchells both came from large families. She, a native of Townville and graduate of T.L. Hanna High School, grew up with seven brothers and sisters. He, an Abbeville County native who grew up in Anderson with nine brothers and sisters, graduated from Pendleton High School and then Tri-County Technical College.
 
       

The Mitchells and their three children, Miriam, Gloria, and Stephen, in a treasured family photo.


      “He was 40 years old when he was called into the ministry,” Betty told this writer, in an interview with The Christian View. “The year he graduated from Anderson College, our oldest daughter started that fall.” 
        He would also graduate from Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute in Hendersonville, North Carolina. 
        He entered the ministry in 1975 and is still serving, after three decades. 
        He retired in September, 2001 as Rock Springs Baptist Church's Associate Pastor, a position he held since 1993. He then served as interim Pastor at local churches. 
        With a marriage that has lasted longer than half a century and that is still going strong, the Mitchells have advice for young couples. “When you have a spat, make sure that, before you go to sleep, you get things straightened out, that you forgive each other and work it out,” said Mitchell. 
        “We have never had any bad disagreements, and we always straightened things out before we went to sleep at night,” said Betty.
      “And she has always been right,” added Mitchell, with a smile.
      “The Lord has been good to us,” said Betty. “He has blessed us in our marriage and in everything. I would tell young people to start out your life with the Lord and keep Him in the center of your life. Put Him even above your spouse. And let Him give you direction in everything. Stay close to Him. You can make it. There is nothing that the two of you and the good Lord can’t work out.”
      “What we learned early was to trust each other and to respect each other, and that has been a big help, especially in the ministry,” said Mitchell. “We have trusted each other to the point that we haven’t doubted each other, and it has made a big difference in our lives.”

The Mitchell family at the 50th anniversary celebration.