Skating ‘matriarch’ dies at 103

Billie Mitchell, the “matriarch” of the Vancouver skating community, died Wednesday at the age of 103.

The first female president of Skate Canada (formerly the Canadian Figure Skating Association) died peacefully in Vancouver surrounded by her family, son-in-law Jack Zaleski said.

“She was a wonderful lady,” he said. “She was very driven to get things done.”

Mitchell first became involved in the local figure-skating community in 1949 when her son and daughter were skating at Kerrisdale arena. In 1961, she was elected chair of the British Columbia Section of the CFSA, inadvertently becoming the first woman on the national board of directors. Three years later, she became its first female president.

Mitchell was also the founder of the Arbutus Club, a private fitness club.

“But more than an impressive resume of a trail-blazing woman, my Nana was a good and decent person,” said a Facebook post by Mitchell’s grandson, Owen Clark.

“Her accomplishments were not the result of a deep ambition to wield power or receive praise; her accomplishments were the result of unshakable confidence in herself, natural unselfishness, and a desire to make life just a little better for someone else.”

Born and raised in Vancouver, Mitchell was married to John Hardie Mitchell, the owner of Canadian Stevedoring. Together, they established the John Hardie Mitchell Family Foundation in 1985. John died in 1987.

Mitchell continued to chair the foundation, “always looking for opportunities to help, even if not approached,” Zaleski said. She also supported the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society in its early years, the Seafarers Mission, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Bard on the Beach.

Mitchell had four children, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

She was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.