William F. Mitchell ’61

Bill died Jan. 6, 2026.  

The stepson of John F. Burket ’38, he came to us from Phillips Exeter. At Princeton, he was a member of Whig-Clio but withdrew from the University in March of 1959. After working for a year, he attended and graduated from Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, following which he served in the Marine Corps. 

Bill practiced architecture in San Francisco, retiring and closing his office in 1992. He then earned a certificate in library science and relocated to western North Carolina, where he had in part grown up, and worked for the Henderson County Public Library. He was a published author, writing Building as History: The Architecture of Ernie Stilwell. So far as we know, he was never in touch with the University or the class.  

Bill is survived by his sister, June Mitchell Coulbourn.