Michael James McGrew of Denver, Colorado, died August 15 at the age of 60. Born October 5, 1948 in Denver, he received a B.A. degree in English in 1971 from Colorado College, Colorado Springs, and went on to earn a B.M. degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1976. He studied piano with Lorene White Austin, harpsichord with Laurette Goldberg, and organ with Robert Paul, Phyllis Tremmel, and Wyatt Insko.
McGrew spent most of his working career at GTE, which later became Verizon Communications, from which firm he retired in 2003. He had previously been director of music at First Methodist Church of Lakewood, California, assistant organist at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Long Beach, California, and organist at First United Presbyterian Church in Long Beach.
After his return to Denver, McGrew joined St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral, where he sang in the choir and assisted in the music library and the cathedral archive, and was a member of the Denver AGO chapter. He was one of the guest organ recitalists for the 1976 bicentennial recital series at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and attended Royal School of Church Music summer programs in Denver. He was a former member of the Colorado Springs Chorale, the Colorado College Collegium Musicum, and the Colorado Opera Festival.
His volunteer work reflected his interest in ships; he served as an officer of the Queen Mary Foundation, and was a member of the Titanic Historical Society. He was a volunteer for special exhibits at the Museum of Nature and Science in Denver. Michael McGrew is survived by his partner Kevin Maneval.
Robert Bostwick “Bob” Mitchell died July 4 at the age of 96, in Los Angeles, California. He studied organ with Ernest Douglas and at age 18 was the youngest person to become a fellow of the American Guild of Organists. He had begun accompanying silent movies at age 12, and was still doing so even shortly before his death. In 1934 he founded the Mitchell Boys Choir, which performed in more than 100 motion pictures, including Carefree with Fred Astaire, Going My Way with Bing Crosby, and The Bishop’s Wife with Cary Grant. Mitchell had served as music director for several churches in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, and as house organist for the Los Angeles Dodgers when they debuted in their new stadium in 1962. Dean of the Los Angeles AGO chapter from 1970 to 1972, Mitchell was named an Honorary Life Member, and was one of the longest-lived and best-known members of the chapter.
