Former Motorola executive Mitchell dies, key player in wireless

John F. Mitchell of Inverness, a key architect of wireless communications and one of the original patent holders on Motorola's DynaTac portable phone prototype, died Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 81.

Mitchell joined Motorola in 1953 and retired as vice chairman of the board in 1998. During his 45-year career, Mitchell shaped the creation of nearly all of the wireless communications industries in the latter half of the 20th century.

"Dad would always bring home different products, like the two-way radio or a pager to show us," said son Kevin Mitchell of Palatine, who also worked for Motorola for about 25 years. "He even brought home a television for us to see, when Motorola was making televisions back then."

Growing up, John Mitchell was a life guard on Chicago's Oak Street Beach and a water polo player at Black Hawk Park. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology as an electrical engineer and went on to serve in the U.S. Navy.

In 1953, Mitchell joined Motorola. As chief engineer of mobile and portable products, he guided the introduction of the first transistorized radio pagers and then turned his attention to cellular telephone technology, said Motorola spokeswoman Jennifer Erickson.

In 1973, Mitchell and a team of Motorola engineers were the original patent holders for the DynaTAC radio telephone cellular system, which included a low-power portable handset. About 10 years later, the Motorola DynaTAC phone, the world's first commercial hand-held cellular phone, received approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the cellular phone industry was born, said Erickson.

In 1974, Mitchell was elected to Motorola's board and became senior vice president. In 1975, he was elected executive vice president and assistant chief operating officer. He was promoted to president in 1980. Three years later, he was appointed to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

In 1986, he was named president and COO until 1988, when he became vice chairman of the board. He then retired from Motorola in 1995 and remained on the board of directors as vice chairman until 1998.

Besides son Kevin, Mitchell is survived by his wife Margaret, children Cathy of Scottsdale, John K. of Fort Lauderdale, and grandchildren.

Visitation will be at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home (847-359-8020) in Palatine from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 14. Afterward, he will be cremated.