Live Oak High educator loses battle to cancer, teaching until the end | “They were his reason for getting up every day”

WATSON — Live Oak High School students and the staff are mourning the loss of a beloved AP History teacher, who passed away after battling cancer. Gary Mitchell, who had been with the school for more than 10 years and had also taught in other school districts, died on Tuesday, April 8.

According to Live Oak High School Principal Gary Jones, Mitchell was so dedicated to his students that he was still teaching them even last week.

“As a matter of fact, last week he was Zooming in with the students teaching. We had cameras set up and everything,” Jones recalled.

Jones said that Mitchell’s teaching methods allowed students to take ownership of their learning, and that he often held after-school study sessions for his AP students to help prepare them for the college-level standardized test, where he would purchase dinner for the students.

Gary Mitchell was also known around the Live Oak campus for his willingness to help and offer advice or encouragement.

“More than anything, he cared about the students and what they were able to learn,” Jones said. “The students were his reason for getting up every day, for everything he did. He lived and breathed to teach those students.”

Mitchell was battling cancer, but this wasn’t his first time fighting it. Jones said that the educator had an aggressive form of cancer in the past, but was able to beat it.

Mitchell would teach his students virtually even from a hospital bed after his surgeries and procedures. That was the level of dedication he had for the students in his classes, the principal recalled.

“That’s what he wanted to do. He hated the idea of being away from his students, and he was going to do everything he could to be there with them,” Jones said.

The school posted the news in a Facebook post on Wednesday morning, calling Mitchell a mentor and “guiding light.” Many individuals reminisced on having Mitchell as their own teacher and how he impacted their lives through comments on the post.

Jones said that news of Mitchell’s passing has hit the campus hard, and things were especially difficult for the junior and senior level students currently in his classes. Guidance counselors and support staff have been on hand.

Mitchell’s students have been writing letters to his family about the impact he had on them, Jones said.

Mitchell was formerly an FCA co-sponsor at Live Oak High, and has coached numerous basketball and other sports teams in previous positions. In addition, he worked for the SEC as a softball umpire and reviewed game tapes at the Birmingham, Alabama, office, Jones said.

“Mr. Mitchell, you will be deeply missed but never forgotten. You opened our minds to new ways of learning and inspired students to think differently. You weren’t just a teacher — you were our paradigm shift,” the school shared on its Facebook page.

The school plans to honor Mitchell and his legacy and is working with his family to do so.

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