Thomas E. Mitchell (Tom) was born September 26, 1950 in Fort Collins, Colorado. He grew up in a Christian home with his parents, Alfred and May. Tom was the middle son of three boys. His parents were hard working “blue -collar” workers. After graduation from high school in 1969, Tom was drafted into the Army and served as an infantryman in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division. He married Kathleen A. Wilson on May 26, 1972 and moved to Pocatello, Idaho in 1977 to attend a vocational school to become a professional welder. They have three children who were all born in Idaho. Their oldest son, Chad is married to Kassandra and they have four children. Chad and Kassandra are members of the Blackfoot church of Christ. They live in a rural community outside of Blackfoot, Idaho near Tom and Kate’s small farm. Their middle child, Angela Woodside is married to Timothy and they have one daughter. They are living in a little town north of Reno, Nevada and are members of the Sparks church of Christ in Sparks, Nevada. Their youngest son, Casey, passed away at the age of 19 as a result of a bad auto accident in September, 2002. Tom is the CEO of a metal fabrication company that he and his wife started in 1993. Their company specializes in stainless steel modifications and upgrades in the potato processing plants along the Snake River Valley in Eastern Idaho. They presently employ around 45 employees and Chad is now one of the partners. Tom and Kate have been members of the church of Christ in Blackfoot, Idaho since 1979 where Tom has served as an elder in the past and now preaches and teaches on a rotational basis. Tom has been fortunate to be able to serve on the Board of Directors for the Guardian of Truth Foundation for approximately the last eight years and has truly benefitted from his association with a good number of strong, faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.

TRANSITIONS

At the time of this writing there now have been a number of occasions where I have been able to associate and work with Mike Willis. I met Mike personally for the first time on July 13, 2004 which was the first full day of the annual Truth Magazine Lectures in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Up to that date I had known of Mike for many years through his teaching and editing work in the Truth Magazine and Guardian of Truth Foundation in Bible class materials and other such like spiritual teachings in print. Having been cautioned and even warned by a few of my brethren out west that Mike teaches error on certain issues, I was pleasantly surprised to find Mike to be a man that truly does seek the truth without partiality or false justification and one who was very willing to take all the time necessary to discuss with me the issues that I sought to know as to where his convictions were grounded. He never was offended with my questions, but rather sought the truth and authority for his teachings from the word of God. Even on the first opportunity I had, following an evening lecture when there were dozens of Christians mingling and greeting each other, Mike took the time to deal with my concerns with an open Bible in his hands.

Mike is a country boy, born into a family much like my own. On occasion I’ve had the opportunity to sit in company with Mike and two of his brothers, Lewis, and now deceased, Donald, as they ribbed each other about fond memories of the past. One story that tickled me, reminding me of my own childhood with my two brothers, was how Mike, being the youngest of the four boys, was nearly always low man on the totem pole. If my memory is correct, the Willis family had a calf they were raising to butcher and the boys thought that they ought to be able to train the calf to be ridden. As the older boys would try to ride him they would get pitched off in the barn yard. So they got the bright idea that they could use Mike as a training tool. Two of them could hold the calf real still while the other one would put Mike on the calf and tie a rope to his foot, then pulling it tight under the calf’s belly they would tie it to his other foot. Once this was accomplished, the two holding the calf still, turned loose to an exciting and unpredictable bunch of barnyard commotion. The commotion of whooping and hollering was loud enough that their Mama came running from the house demanding the older boys hurry and catch the calf because her baby boy was no longer on top of the calf as he had slipped around to the belly-side where the hooves and dust were flying, among other particles, fogging the center of attention.

I don’t know for sure if it was Mike’s being a country boy that helped him learn to "get up early and get-at-‘em" or if in his careful Christian walk he learned that time is a gift from God, and it is to be used wisely. In more than one occasion in our motel stays at the Truth Lectures I have witnessed Mike, fully clad in his appropriate nice clothes for the day, in the motel lobby with his Bible open, his computer or electronic tablet, writing utensil and pad, hard at work long before the rooster crowed for the first time in the day. It has always amazed me how much this man can get accomplished and what a great value his accomplishments are. I believe he does this by good old fashioned country-boy hard work ethics coupled with a love for the Lord and a love for the souls of all people.

I just have a hunch that as Mike Willis steps aside and retires from the Editor responsibilities of Truth Magazine he will be directing his abilities and devotion to the Lord in other directions, and in doing so, I truly want to wish him well and tell him I love him and thank him for all the good influence he has been to me, my wife and family.