DR. GEORGE MITCHELL Author, scholar, and U.S. Diplomat, George Mitchell, age 98. Former Executive Director of the Pittsburgh World Affairs Council. When a man dies each one of us takes a small step closer to humanity, to seeing and understanding ourselves. Standing against someone we have come to know and love, the shadow of us appears where they have fallen away and we have no choice but to look. As this life fades before us, our own existence becomes more clear. Sadness, grief, and loss are the corrective lenses we have no choice but to wear. Sometimes painful, sometimes less so, but always leaving us with a new prism from having experienced a husband, father, brother, soldier, friend, neighbor and grandfather. In all the color of George's life, the blue sky of a better future is his legacy. To his mother, a son. To his family, a loving and adventurous husband and father. From the beaches of Normandy, the fight for a better life. Throughout his life, George often grabbed the hands of our imaginations and took us to the sands of war to understand sacrifice so that others may live. As the world began anew, the opening chapter with his new bride, Nina. would show us how to live the importance of the willingness to give and the necessity to share. His dedication to foreign service bespoke of sincerity of tolerance, dignity and respect long before the fashion plate as it is expressed today. Ambition, interest, and harboring an intellectual prowess, he became first a diplomat, then international consultant, mediator, educator, and writer. His tales of Northern Ireland, Peru, Mexico, and Santo Domingo all challenged our everyday view of the world, and captivated students. At a dinner party many years later, George was asked about the most interesting food he ever ate. Quiet and with head down, guinea pig, he said. Then, after a long pause, presented with tail and all! A long journey from his boyhood home in Kearney, Nebraska, but a testament to his academic achievements through Oxford, Georgetown, The Hague, Sorbonne (PhD Summa cum laude), Institute d'Etudes Politiques, and George Washington University, George came to know this world as few would even today. He was Executive Director of the World Affairs Council here in Pittsburgh. Served as Adjunct Professor, International Business Management, at Point Park University. He authored the book, Matthew B. Ridgway: Soldier, Statesman, Scholar, Citizen (1999). Following a fulfilling life abroad, George settled his family to Upper St. Clair in 1973 allowing his three girls, Martina Melinda, and Marlena to finish school. It was in their home on Brookdale Drive where his daughters fondly remember their father singing a wake up song. Born August 6, 1920 of Greek descent, Dr. Mitchell lived a remarkable life and made each of us a part of that story. He is survived by his wife, Nina; three children; sons-in-law, Edward Gallagher (Martina); grandchildren, Catherine and Christopher, Daryl Linkous (Melinda), and Chris McCann (Marlena), grandchildren, Christopher and Julia Rose. It is true; old soldiers never die, they just fade away. We can take heart that Poppy will always be with us. Family and personal friends will be received on Saturday, May 25 at 1:30 p.m. at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, Falls Church, VA. Send condolences post-gazette.com/gb