Death Announced of Alison Mitchell, Born on Lyme Street, Devoted to History

Alison C. Mitchell, a lifelong activist for women’s rights and health, championing women across social services in New York and Connecticut, died on Jan. 28, 2026, in Mystic. She was 93.

Alison came into the world in 1932 at the Captain Chadwick House on Lyme Street. As she loved to tell everyone, including in a 2024 interview with The Day: “…years ago, my mother gave birth to me on the dining room table.” From that day forward, Old Lyme became a homing beacon throughout her life. 

She continued to summer in Old Lyme during her childhood, and eventually would go visit the “house on the hill” which her mother, Jane Carter, a pioneering female architect, built atop Meeting House Lane. For many years she returned to visit family who resided in that house. Later in life she lived adjacently on the property with her husband and environmental journalist, John Galvin Mitchell. Years after her husband passed, Alison moved to Lieutenant River Lane where she was within walking distance to the house where she was born.

Her love for the town and its history continued through her work at the Old Lyme Historical Society, where she was a founding member, and served as Chair and Head Archivist. The Historical Society said of her, “she had an ambitious vision, helping the Society to grow by establishing a publishing program, helping to acquire the former Grange building, and overseeing our Archives, which have been named in her honor. The Archives were Alison’s true passion, and she instilled a high standard of excellence in everyone she trained.” Alison edited five books for the organization, and her diligent work there was a great source of pride.

In recent years she teamed up with her dear friend Edie Twining to write two children’s books: “Letters to Papa,” based on correspondences she discovered in the archives, and “Townsend: The Positive Dog of Mystic Senior Living.” It was in Mystic that Alison made her last home with her dog, Cappie, at StoneRidge Senior Living. But Old Lyme remained the forever home in Alison’s heart.  

She married the love of her life, John G. Mitchell, in 1954, and soon after they moved to Staten Island. There, they became beloved activists and caretakers of the community and land, and raised their two children, Kate and Pamela. The family would frequently visit the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks and northern Lake Michigan, where the surrounding nature was an important familial touchstone.

Alison attended the Brearley School in New York City, Abbot Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and the College of Staten Island. She received a master’s degree in Human Resources Administration from Antioch University.

She was the executive director of the YWCA of Greater Bridgeport, where she focused on building expansive social services for women. Later, she was an assistant professor at the University of Bridgeport. When she and her husband moved to Washington DC, she worked at the Smithsonian Institution. There, she pioneered projects interviewing the Tuskegee Airmen and began immersing herself in the archive work that would define her career. 

Throughout Alison’s life she was elected to numerous boards, and received awards for distinguished service, devotion to the arts, and social justice causes. She was proud to have been appointed to the New York City Arts Commission under Mayor John V. Lindsay.

In addition to her husband of 54 years, she is pre-deceased by siblings Burnham Carter Jr. and David L. Carter. She is survived by daughters Katherine Mitchell (David Cooper) and Pamela Mitchell (Andrea Israel); three grandsons, Steven Cooper, Daniel Cooper, and Julian Mitchell-Israel; and great-granddaughter, Lana Cooper. 

Alison will be remembered for her bright smile, her quick-witted stories that could entertain for hours, and her fervent compassion for others that she instilled in her family. 

Donations in Alison’s memory may be directed to the Old Lyme Historical Society.