Decorated youth coach welcomed everyone into his life with open arms and without judgment Kevin P. Mitchell, 64, died unexpectedly on the morning of October 1, 2024. Kevin was working hard toward regaining his strength in the rehabilitation program at Birchwood Terrace, following a recent hospitalization. Kevin grew up in Burlington, Vt. He fell in love with playing sports, excelling in soccer and baseball. His accomplishments were often highlighted in the Burlington Free Press, scoring goals or hitting home runs. He graduated from Burlington High School in 1978 and went on to play baseball at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. Kevin attended for a year before returning to Vermont to begin a career as a lineman. He was able to continue his love for the game of baseball by joining the Burlington A’s, with the wonderful opportunity of being able to both play and coach. Kevin later transitioned to coaching soccer at Rice Memorial High School. Beginning as an assistant for the girls’ team, he flawlessly rolled into a head coaching role, then took on the boys’ varsity team in 1988. He was a decorated coach with many winning seasons, two state championships and opportunities to coach the Lions Cup-Twin State team, and he was also inducted into the Rice-Cathedral Hall of Fame. Kevin was able to further his coaching at Rice by joining as an assistant to the varsity baseball team. Kevin had an outstanding 36-year career at Burlington Electric Department working as a lineman and crew leader. It was there he met the love of his life, Cheryl, marrying in 1989. They went on to grow their family, welcoming a daughter, Ashley, and son, Keegan. Kevin was so proud of his family, taking any opportunity to teach, coach or brag about them. There is no doubt that he was meant to be a father to his children and build a beautiful life with his family. He was ecstatic to welcome son-in-law Nick and daughter-in-law Mariah, the perfect partners for his kids. Kevin was even more elated to become a grandfather (“Pa”) to his Lily and Finley. Kevin and his family faced a challenging diagnosis of frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) in spring 2023, following extensive testing and indicators that had been slowly progressing over a few years. During this past year, Kevin’s FTD symptoms began to progress, limiting his mobility and ability to care for himself or communicate in a normal capacity. However, as difficult as this diagnosis and progression was,…