Pauline Mitchell

Pauline Mitchell passed away on October 14, 2025, surrounded by her family, who loved her dearly. She leaves behind a legacy of building peace across borders and of giving infinite love to her family and friends, all while expressing gratitude to God for the vibrant life she led. Born in Bandung, Indonesia, to Dr. Emilie Theo Hoedt and Matilda Hoedt-Carp, she was the youngest of six siblings and part of a multicultural Dutch-Indonesian family spanning many generations. A sophisticated “woman of the world”, after WWII, when the family left Indonesia, she spent part of her youth at boarding school in Switzerland and attended college in Holland. Upon helping her father recover from a stroke in Brazil, she began a career as alinguist/translator, speaking English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish and German. She met her husband and lifelong partner of over 50 years, John H. Mitchell, in Eindhoven, Holland, before they eventually settled in the United States in the mid-1970s. Their American dream was fulfilled when they began a family to include their eldest daughter, Jennifer H Mitchell, and younger son, Andrew J Mitchell. An extremely passionate, hard-working, and giving person, Pauline accomplished many professional successes as a small-business owner and real estate professional while living in Connecticut. Pauline and John spent their last chapter of life in Venice, Florida, where she was an incredibly active volunteer as a board director with the Sister Cities Association of Sarasota, as well as gave immense support to The Calendonian Club of SWFL, The Circus Arts Conservatory, The Venice Historical Society, and her parish, Epiphany Cathedral. One of Pauline’s strongest talents was bringing family and friends from all over the world together to celebrate. She is survived by her two children, Jennifer and Andrew, her son-in-law Ryan, and four grandchildren whom she adored beyond measure, Kerrington and wife Liz, Emma, Cameron, and Kaden John. Her energy was a force of nature, and she will be missed greatly by all who knew her. In lieu of flowers, donations in our mother’s memory can be made to the Emma Clarke Scholarship Fund at The Circus Arts Conservatory benefiting young students who wish to pursue a career in the performing arts (like Pauline's granddaughter Emma whose aerial career she was proud to support) or to Sister Cities Association of Sarasota, an international organization promoting cultural respect which mom volunteered and served on the board of for over 20 years. Pauline’s family invites friends & colleagues to attend her funeral mass on Thursday, October 23at 11:00am in the Parish Hall of Epiphany Cathedral, located at 350 Tampa Ave W, Venice, FL34285. Immediately following Pauline’s funeral mass, there will be a celebration of life luncheon reception between 12:00 and 4:00 p.m. at the Mitchell family home in Venice.