DENVER — For 25 years, Ron Mitchell called 9NEWS his second home.
The general assignment reporter left his job in radio to join the television station in 1969, and he stayed until he retired in 1995. He never looked for the spotlight. Mitchell would tell most people he was a journalist who happened to work in TV.
"He championed stories about people who had no voice, and Ron was the guy who decided [that] this person needs to be heard and we need to go tell that story," said Mark Koebrich, former 9NEWS anchor and Mitchell's colleague. "He valued truth and trust, and that’s why we valued Ron so much. He was just a very special person."
Mitchell focused a lot on education and transportation, but his biggest passion was his family.
"I know he would come home sometimes, and he'd say to me, 'I did a really good job today because both sides are angry with me,' " Judie Mitchell, Ron's wife, said with a smile. They were married for 54 years.
"The integrity he had was amazing, and if I heard him say, 'How can I help?' one time, I heard it 100,000 times, and people you’ll talk to, people who worked with him, will tell you the same thing. He was always there to help."
Ron and Judie raised two children together. David Mitchell followed in his father's footsteps with a career in broadcast journalism, while his other son, Don, focused on print journalism. Both agree the job that Mitchell was best at was being a dad.
"He was always there for us, even after his illness, like Mom said he would ask what can I do to help?" Don said. "I don't know, it’s hard to really put into words what an amazing dad he was. If I could be half the dad he was, I'd be perfect."
In the mid '90s, Mitchell developed a staph infection that led to chronic fatigue and forced him to retire early. While he was not ready to leave the business, he cherished the extra time he had with his grandchildren.
He died at age 75 in 2016.
"He's just greatly, greatly missed," Don said. "But we were so fortunate."
As the family began to make arrangements, they realized they wanted to honor Mitchell's dedication to local broadcast journalism. The bond between the two would be forged forever.
"When we were talking about the marker, there were some microphones and things, and we got to thinking that was a part of his life but TV was the biggest part," Judie said as she stood at Crown Hill Cemetery. "[We] talked to Tim Ryan [now 9NEWS director of content], and he gave use permission to have the 9NEWS logo, so that was really special."
Like a flower to its vase, Ron Mitchell and 9NEWS will always be connected. He was a man who never wanted the spotlight but always cherished loyalty.
"He’s saying you guys are making too big a deal out of all this," Don said with a laugh. "But you know he was very passionate about his work, and he would be proud to have that there."
Mitchell was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado Hall of Fame in 2012. While his TV career was a big part of his life, his family tells us nothing gave him more joy than his grandchildren.
> Below: Watch some of Ron Mitchell's 9NEWS stories:
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