Services for Steven (Steve) Burnette Mitchell, 73, of Lawrence, will be at 1 pm, Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home. Inurnment will take place at a later date.
Steve died Sunday, March 15, 2026, from complications of dementia.
He was born April 2, 1952, in Gardner, Kansas, the son of Jack Ralph Mitchell and Helen (Mittlestadt) Mitchell. His brother, Charles (Charlie), joined the family in January of 1954.
Steve attended grades K-12 in Montana, New Mexico, and Texas, graduating from John H. Reagan High School in Austin in 1970. He earned a BA from KU in May 1979, followed by an MA in Political Science in December 1992.
While a student at KU, Steve worked for the Libraries and Student Financial Aid office. He transferred those skills to positions in data entry/customer service with Sallie Mae, DST Systems, and General Dynamics.
He married Lois Bauer on May 21, 1988, in Lawrence. She survives, along with his brother Charlie of Waco, Texas, and an extended family on Lois’ side that he warmly embraced.
The family would like to thank the staff and students of KU Speech Language Hearing Clinic; the staff of Lawrence Family Practice, Lawrence Neurology Specialists, LMH, Key Rehab, Ascend Hospice, and Neuvant House for their care. And a special thank you to a group of wonderful neighbors that literally lifted Steve up when he was down, and gave him reason to smile on hard days.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Schiefelbusch Speech Language Hearing Clinic at KU, entering “SPLH Endowment” on the KU Endowment Association website; a favorite charity; or the planting of a tree.
Livestream the service at https://together.oneroomstreaming.com/F6STCN
